When Certain Situations Change
by Zab222
Summary: Canada is ignored quite often, but what happens when someone starts to notice him? Russia starts being oddly friendly towards the slightly smaller country and Canada is left with only one question, Why? Canada X Russia
1. Chapter 1

**((authors note: Hello Everyone! This is my first attempt at a pairing between these two characters, I thought I'd give it a go. If you like it don't forget to give it a review!))**

 ***I DO NOT OWN HETALIA NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN IT***

Chapter 1

Matthew sighed deeply and pressed his head against the wall behind him. He was just outside the meeting room doors and was debating whether he actually wanted to go in or not. He was dressed for it, in his usual suit, tie and uncomfortable shoes, he had prepared himself for it, but slight dread still weighed on his mind. In his arms he held a small polar bear who was looking rather bored. Matthew lowered his head and nuzzled the top of the bears head gently.

"Go in?" Asked the small bear.

Canada sighed again letting his head go back against the wall. "It'll be the same as every meeting, Kumakichi… If I want to say something, someone is bound to interrupt me. No one notices anyway, whether I make an attempt or not. I should just go home, eh?"

He glanced down as the bear looked up at him. "Who are you?"

"I'm Canada…" Matthew said quietly as he directed his attention at the double doors. After a few seconds he bit his lip and nodded slowly. "Even if I don't get noticed… I still should attend. Besides, it's a good way to see everyone, eh?" He crept to the door and opened it a crack to peek inside.

Though it was ten to fifteen minutes before the meeting officially started, the room was still incredibly empty. Counting, there were only twelve other people in the room. England was arguing with France, as usual, by their respected seats. Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Estonia were standing in a far corner talking amongst themselves. Matthew's eyes didn't linger on them; the old Soviet Union countries always gave him a bad feeling. Next were four of the five Nordics; Sweden, Finland, Norway and Iceland. It looked as though the brothers were arguing while Sweden and Finland were in deep conversation. Close to the doors, Germany was scolding Italy who was whining loudly.

Sighing again, Matthew stepped unnoticed into the large room and began to walk grudgingly towards England and France. He stared longingly at his chair as he walked past it, wanting nothing better than to sit and get the meeting over with so he could hurry back to his own home, but he knew better. If he didn't at least make some attempt at being noticed by either of the older countries, they would gripe on him for hours for not saying hello. It always happened.

As he drew nearer to the two, his eyes met Arthurs'. "America!" The Brit said, shoving Francis aside. "Please tell this frog that the only reason we are in this country of yours is to talk about how you are dragging us all down with your horrible government!"

"Uhm," Matthew started, feeling the familiar weight in his chest as he took a step back from the furious Brittan. "You see—"

Francis smacked Arthur over the head. "How many times must I tell you? That is Matthew Williams—Canada! Not his egotistical brother."

"Bollocks," Arthur said after a closer inspection of the younger blonde. "I'm sorry Canada! You just look so similar," he forced a laugh.

Matthew forced a smile, "that's okay…" Arthur smiled at him then turned and smacked Francis across the head with a folder he was holding. As the two started bickering again, Matthew walked to his seat, mumbling, "I'm used to it…"

Sitting heavily, he leaned his head back to rest on the back of the chair, closing his eyes as he did. He wondered, if he willed it, if he could actually turn invisible. If he concentrated hard enough, or even maybe stopped trying at all, if he would simply vanish. _I might be able to leave then,_ he thought. _I might never have to show up for another one of these stupid meetings again._

He felt a weight in his lap and looked down to see that the polar bear had jumped up and was now curled up against his legs, trying to fall asleep. Matthew smiled and gently ran his hand over Kuma's head, enjoying the feel of his soft fur running through his fingers. He heard someone sit in the chair next to him and he glanced over at them before looking back at Kuma.

Matthew jumped so hard Kumajiro nearly fell out of his lap. Russia was sitting in the seat next to him looking annoyed, terrified or very angry (he couldn't tell which) but the emotion vanished behind a childish smile as violet eyes met Matthew's blue-violet mix.

"You wouldn't mind if I sat next to you, da (yes)?" the much larger man asked, giving him—what he might have assumed to be—an almost persuasive look. "I do not think Natalya would get very upset if I sat here."

"Uhm…" Matthew looked over at the corner where he had last seen her. The smaller country was glaring daggers in their general direction as she pulled a small knife out from a fold in her dress.

"Da, she won't be coming over," Ivan said with a small sigh. "I am believing so. You are not a threat."

"Er," Matthew looked back at Ivan then down at Kumajiro. The polar bear was giving the other man a very cold look then looked up at his owner with another annoyed expression. Matthew looked back up at Ivan to see he was wearing an impatient one. "Oh, um," he hurried, "yes—I mean to say, you're fine to sit there." Matthew felt his cheeks warm slightly, embarrassed as he fumbled over his words.

"Da, spasiba (thank you)," the larger man smiled as he turned away from him.

Matthew looked at Kuma, who had curled up in his lap again. An awkward silence settled on him. _Should I strike up a conversation?_ He thought feeling more nervous than he should. _What would I even bring up?_

"They don't really notice you, do they?" The voice coated in the familiar Russian accent sounded at his side.

"Quoi (what)?" He looked over feeling slightly alarmed.

"Those two," Ivan gestured towards Arthur and Francis, who were still bickering.

"Oh," Matthew glanced at Ivan wondering if he was teasing him. "Yea, it happens."

"That doesn't bother you?"

"I'm used to it."

Silence.

 _What was that about?_ Matthew thought to himself staring hard at the table. _Why did he ask? Is he trying to make me angry?_

A loud bang filled the room as someone kicked in the double doors. "The Hero has arrived!" came a rather obnoxious voice. Matthew groaned internally as looked over and saw his older brother stride into the room.

Ivan muttered something under his breath. Matthew took a peak at him and felt a cold chill crawl down his spine. The man's warm smile had been replaced by a cold glare as a strange dark aura seemed to seep from him. His violet eyes flashed dangerously as he glared at America, a murderous look on his face.

Matthew quickly looked away, feeling terror grip at him. He wanted to move, but his legs seemed to lock. He panicked internally about being stuck in the seat next to a very angry Russia, who was continuing to mutter under his breath.

Arms wrapped around Matthew's shoulders and he jumped again waking Kuma for the second time. The polar bear growled then hopped onto the floor, disappearing under the table.

"Hey bro!" a loud voice sounded in Matthew's ear. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in ages! Why're you sittin' next to a commie?"

"Alfred," Matthew started, trying to shove his loud brother off of him. "You saw me—"

"There you are America," Arthur's voice sounded behind them.

"You finally got it right," came Francis' voice, sounded highly sarcastic.

"Um… guys?" Matthew tried to get their attention, _Alfred doesn't have to be so rude to Russia, even if he doesn't like him._ He glanced over at Ivan, feeling the embarrassment that only his big brother could cause, ready to apologize but found that he wasn't there.

Matthew stared at the empty seat then looked around the room, trying to locate him again. Alfred's beaming upside down face suddenly blocked his view. "Hey! Why don't we all go out to eat after the meeting? I know a great restaurant down the block."

"I could go for something to eat," Arthur said thoughtfully.

"If it's going to be another one of those Chinese food places," Francis snarled at Alfred.

"Hey, Dude! No! This'll be Italian!"

"I can't," Matthew started, once again struggling to remove his brother who was practically on top of him at this point. "After the meeting—"

"Not cool, bro," Alfred frowned down at him. "Why not? It'll be totally lame if you don't go! You have to go! I haven't seen you in, like, forever! You have to tell me all that's happening up there, you know? The moose and geese and stuff? C'mon it'll be fun!"

"It's not really—"

"I will have to go. It will be the last time I will get to see mon chère (my dear)," Francis pulled Alfred off of Matthew, who straightened and stifled a sigh of relief. He only had that second before Francis draped his arms around his shoulders, pulling Matthew into his chest. "He is getting so handsome after all! Don't you think? I will have to take all your time!"

"Papa—"

"Get off of him, frog," Arthur yanked on the back of his clothes, pulling the older blonde off of the much younger one. "You're making the poor lad uncomfortable!"

Francis rounded on him, reached out and pulled on a lock of Arthur's hair. "Stop telling me what to do! Besides, how else am I supposed to show my affection towards mon chère? Though I could always kiss him…" he trailed off with a loving look at the larger country whose eyes widened with shock.

"Not by doing that, wanker!" Arthur snapped.

Matthew watched as Francis' attention was drawn back to Arthur and they began to bicker again while Alfred was unusually quiet looking from the arguing couple to him. Ignoring Alfreds' lopsided grin he sighed deeply and leaned forward, bringing his arms up to rest against the surface of the table then placed his forehead against them. _Please let this meeting go quickly,_ he opened his eyes then tilted his head up slightly to rest his chin on his arms. He blinked, Ivan was sitting almost directly across from him with Belarus hanging on one of his arms. He was speaking to her in a low voice a small terrified look on his face as he tried to pull her off of him with no avail. His violet eyes briefly glanced up and caught Matthew's stare.

Ivan stared at him, unblinking for several long moments, then swiftly glanced at Alfred, Francis and Arthur behind him before looking back at the younger blonde. _'They don't really notice you, do they?'_ Ivan's question spun around Matthews mind and he felt his cheeks burn as they flushed with an angry red. He broke eye contact with him then lowered his head back into his arms as the room filled slowly.

Once they were all settled, Alfred grinned at Matthew. "I'm up!" He stood and started the meeting opening with a small statement. He went on to explain why they were all here, what was going on within his country and what might happen to others if his economy were to crash. Quietly, Matthew pulled a pen and a small notebook from the inside of his suit jacket to started taking notes.

The meeting seemed to drone on and on. Alfred wasn't helping with his many obnoxious remarks and boastful laugher while Arthur, Francis, and Ludwig shouted their disapproval. Out of the entire room, Francis and Arthur seemed the most heated about what would happen to their countries if Alfred didn't get a grip on things while Ludwig shouted for them to 'speak one at a time!'

When it was finally over, Matthew had barely taken a page and half of notes. Partly because there wasn't anything remotely important to jot down and partially because he couldn't concentrate. Ivan had not moved seats, even though he usually sat clear on the other end of the table and his question had repeated like a bad echo in Matthew's head. As soon as Alfred and Ludwig had dismissed the meeting, he slouched in his chair and Kumajiro came out from under the table.

Matthew smiled. "Kumatchi," he murmured as the bear hopped into his lap. He scratched him lightly behind the ears, as he leaned further into the chair. Trying to avoid looking at Ivan, he watched as the room slowly empty, wanting to wait until everyone left before he tried.

"Canada!" The loud shout made Matthew groan outwardly. "Hurry up! We're going to get some food! Remember?" Alfred appeared next to him and pulled on Matthew's arm, tugging him roughly from his chair. He half dragged him across the room, through the double doors, all along through the long main hallway then outside. The loud noise of New York blasted him and he flinched slightly.

"Alfred—"

"Yahoo!" Alfred exclaimed thrusting a hand into the air. "I love New York! So much stuff is going on! Right, Mattie?" He elbowed his younger brother.

"So, where is this restaurant?" Arthur's voice came from somewhere behind them.

"This way!" Alfred started forward letting go of his younger brother's arm, "just follow the hero!" Matthew straightened his suit slightly, watching the unbearable blond waltz off.

"May as well go get this over with, oui (yes)?" Francis' accent sounded behind him and he looked over seeing his once contributor standing behind him.

Arthur strode forward sighing slightly. "I hope the food is good at least."

Francis placed a hand on the younger males' shoulder and gave him a large smile. Matthew sighed then walked forward with him. "You would know all about _decent_ food wouldn't you, Arthur." Francis said as they fell into step behind Alfred.

"Was that sarcasm?" Arthur snapped, turning his head to glare at him.

"All I am suggesting is that you wouldn't know a thing about decent, votre nourriture est terrible après tout (your food is terrible after all)," Francis said somewhat absentmindedly, as he winked and gave a rather charming smile at a group of American girls who blushed and giggled.

"What did you say, you frog?!"

"It means your food sucks, dude! You don't need to speak French to know that!" Alfred chimed in from ahead.

"You wouldn't know anything, Yankee!" Arthur snapped at his laughing brother.

Matthew watched the three of them bickering feeling a little sick. No one so much as looked at him now. _Maybe I could sneak off?_ He glanced down to see the familiar face of Kumajiro looking back at him, but the polar bear wasn't there. Matthew's heart dropped and he felt panic flood him as his body froze. The people behind him shot him annoyed looks and shoved him forward, forcing him to keep walking.

"Kuma!" Matthew shouted looking around, trying to see if he could get a glance of white fur anywhere but couldn't see him. _He's back at the building, probably still in the meeting room!_ He reached out and grabbed Alfred's sleeve. "Alfred, Kumajiro—" his brother shrugged the sudden unknown tug on his sleeve off. A sharp pain stabbed Matthew's chest and his eyes widened as he watched his older brother laugh at Arthur.

He looked at the second country. "Arthur?" Matthew asked hating the way his voice shook. Arthur glared daggers at Francis who was laughing at him with a slight crazed look. "Papa?" Matthew's voice rose slightly quivering. He watched the three other countries argue with each other, the pain in his chest becoming worse. He stopped walking and this time the people around him simply brushed past. No one looked at him, no one spoke to him, and no one saw him. He watched the three people that he was closest to, his family, walk on ahead laughing and yelling without looking back.

Pushing the tears that were threatening to break from his eyes, he rushed back to the office building where the meeting had been. He swung open the door and nearly ran into Natalya and Sofia. He jumped back from the door, holding it open as the sisters stared at him, one with a glare the other with a small spacey smile. "Désolé (sorry)," Matthew murmured, wondering if they noticed him or knew who he was.

Natalya gave him a dark glare before walking through the door and moving onto the crowded sidewalk. Sofia smiled at him. "Thank you, Matvey," she said before rushing after her younger sister.

Matthew watched them vanish into the crowed before hurrying into the building feeling a little lighter, _at least Sofia remembers me._ He hurried through the hall of the now empty and quiet building when a thought occurred to him. _Russia wasn't with them... that's a little strange,_ he shoved the thought away as quickly as it had come. "That's not important right now." He approached the double doors, praying that they weren't locked. "Kumajina must have been knocked off my lap when Alfred pulled me," he murmured, feeling relief when he opened the doors and stepped inside.

Inside he saw there was only one person in the room. Ivan sat in a chair reading a small book with Kumajiro curled up in his lap fast asleep. The man looked up when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw who it was. "Ah, comrade Matvey I was thinking you would show up soon."

"Kumajiro…" Matthew murmured, completely taken aback, as he walked slowly into the room. _Kuma never likes anyone… he won't even let Alfred pet him sometimes let alone sleep in his lap;_ he stared first at Ivan then at the small polar bear. Kumajiro stirred a little then lifted his head and looked up at his owner who had stopped two feet away. "Kuma?" Matthew asked feeling slightly scared of the blank look the bear was giving him.

"Who are you?"

For the second time that night, a sharp pain stabbed at his chest but this time the pain took all the breath from his lungs. Several of the tears he had earlier suppressed, now slid silently down his cheeks as it took him a few moments to catch his breath. Matthew knelt and held out his arms to the bear. Kumajiro slowly stood, hopped down from Ivan's lap then walked into the embrace.

"I'm sorry," Matthew whispered hugging the bear close as his voice cracked. "I'm so sorry…" Kuma nuzzled into him, wrapping his small paws around his neck.

"I found him asleep under the table," Ivan's voice reminded him that he wasn't the only one in the room.

Matthew stood, quickly whipping the tears from his face hoping that Ivan hadn't seen. When he looked him in the face, Ivan gestured with his book under the table. "He looked quite disgruntled and I was in the thinking that you would be looking for him, da?"

Holding Kumajiro close, he glanced at Ivan then back to his bear. "I didn't mean to… I'm sorry…" he said quietly, burying his face in the soft fur as his eyes started to itch again.

"I am glad that you came for him," Ivan continued as he looked back to his book. "I wouldn't know what to do with a polar bear."

Matthew glanced up at him and as he watched the larger man read a thought came to him. "Russia?" he looked up, "er… I saw your sisters leaving when I was coming back into the building… are they looking for you?"

Ivan's face paled slightly but was quickly masked by his all too familiar smile. "I am going home at a different time, da?"

"O-oh…" Matthew fell silent watching Ivan read.

Kuma shifted in his arms. Matthew looked down at him to find the small bear was looking up at him. "Dinner?" Matthew saw Ivan look up at Kumajiro's words.

Blushing slightly, he nodded. "O-Oui, we should go get something to eat." He turned to leave but paused looking over his shoulder at Ivan who was watching him with a blank look. "Russia…?" Ivan's brow lifted slightly. "Would…you like to join us? I'm not too sure where we could go but you're welcome to come along with us."

"Nyet (no)," he smiled his dark smile. "I'll be fine. Vs ravno spasiba (thanks anyway)."

"It'll be my treat," Matthew pushed. _What am I doing?_ He asked himself feeling a sudden trepidation. _I just asked Russia out to dinner… Russia._ As Matthew watched Ivan who was staring at him with his darkening smile, his thoughts came to a conclusion. _He did stay with Kumajiro until I found him… this could be my thanks._

"Da," Ivan said standing, storing his book inside his large jacket. "If that is the case, I will come." Matthew smiled up at him feeling suddenly intimidated. He turned quickly and led the way back to the streets of New York, a part of him wondering if he just made a mistake somehow.


	2. Chapter 2

**((authors note: Hey guys! Thank you so much for all of the follows and views! I'll be trying to post a chapters as soon as possible! Thank you for your patience! I hope you enjoy this second chapter!))**

 ***I DO NOT OWN HETALIA NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN IT***

Chapter 2

Matthew had picked a small French restaurant a close walking distance from the office building. Getting to the restaurant had been difficult at first, the bustling streets allowed little to no movement. It was only when Ivan started to get angry is when traveling became easy. The people started to walk around the pair, throwing them (mostly Ivan) terrified looks. Matthew had walked staring at the ground, feeling waves of dark aura pass over his back, wishing that the night would end already.

There were two parts of the restaurant, a front where a bar was located and a back where it looked like any ordinary restaurant. The walls were a pleasant white with shelves lined with expensive looking porcelain dishes. One wall was nothing but large windows that looked out on the bustling street beyond.

They were sitting in the back area in a corner booth with menus. Except for them, all the other tables sat empty and there were only one or two people up by the bar. Ivan was still irritated. Matthew hid behind his menu a little too scared to take a peek at the larger man as cold waves of furry came off of him.

 _Maybe I shouldn't have invited him after all…_ Matthew thought as he looked over at Kumajiro, who had gone into 'stuffed animal' mode. _He didn't really have to come,_ he glanced back at the menu. _But then again I did sort of press him into coming…_ He chanced a glance at Ivan and saw that he was looking through the menu. At each pass of his eyes he seemed to grow increasingly irritated.

Their waitress walked up to them at this moment, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Could I get you gentlemen started on any drinks?"

"Oui, I'll have the malbec, faire plaisir," Matthew said quickly.

"Vodka," Ivan spoke and the room seemed to chill.

"Ex-excuse me?"

"I'll have vodka."

"I'm afraid…" the waitress mumbled seeming terrified.

Ivan shot her a glare that would have made the strongest man tremble in his boots. He reached into his large coat and pulled out a full bottle of vodka. He smiled darkly. "Never mind, I found my own."

The waitress managed a small smile before rushing off. Matthew pulled his menu close to his face, wanting to disappear. _This was a bad idea,_ he thought, feeling panic rise within him.

"Comrade Matvey."

He jumped slightly then peered around his menu feeling apprehensive. Ivan's smile was intimidating, Matthews' feet went cold. "O-Oui..?"

"This is French restaurant, da?"

"Oui…" he felt his heart sink slightly. "I'm sorry if it's not to your liking…" _Idiot,_ his thoughts yelled. "Francis told me about this place and I always wanted to come try it out so—"

"Nyet," Ivan's smile faded slightly. "I don't care about that. What would you recommend?"

"O-oh," Matthew quickly scanned the menu. "I think you'd like Irakli Iosebashvili…"

"Da?" Ivan scanned the menu. "Is that Russian?"

Matthew smiled nervously. "It's the most Russian dish here… I think you would like it."

Ivan fell quiet and Matthew slunk down low in his chair. _Maybe I should've picked more of a Russian cuisine place… He doesn't seem to mind too much..._ He shook his head a little feeling annoyed with himself. _I really should have asked what he'd have liked…_

"I want fish," Kumajiro spoke up, breaking Matthew's string of thoughts. He smiled down at him.

"I'll get you some fish, don't worry."

"Not enough."

Matthew shook his head at Kumajiro. "You are becoming a glutton." Kumajiro frowned at him but he just laughed a little. "How about when we go back to the hotel I'll give you some of that salmon I brought with us?"

"Sounds good," the bear said happily, nuzzling his face into his owners' side. Matthew scratched him lightly behind the ears, not noticing Ivan watching him.

The waitress came back shortly and after giving Matthew his wine, had both their orders written down—in which Matthew ordered Soupe à l'oignon and a salmon—walked quickly away.

"Why did you cry?" Ivan's question made Matthew almost choke as he took a sip from his glass.

"Q-Quoi?" He looked up at Ivan, eyes watering as he held a hand to his mouth. Ivan smiled and Matthew glanced at the table feeling uncomfortable.

"When you came back for your bear." Matthew stared at Ivan for a moment without answering before looking down at Kuma who looked back blankly. "I've heard your bear ask you that question multiple times on previous meetings," he continued, taking a swig from his bottle. "Your brother, France and England ask you many times too, da? They forget you all the time, no one seems to remember you most of the time. You have not cried with each of these. Why now?"

Matthew felt his face burn as a small flame of anger lit in his chest. _How does he even know that? And what gives him the right to criticize me?_ "Why do you ask?" Matthew mumbled, trying to keep his anger in check.

"I am simply curious," Ivan said as though he really didn't care.

Another shot of anger ran through him and he glared at the older country who was busy taking yet another large swig from his drink. _Just because I don't get noticed a lot or the fact that I get talked over a lot doesn't mean you can say things like that! Who do you think you are?_ The thoughts formed in his mind and as he opened his mouth to let the words out Kumajiro interrupted him.

"Angry."

Both of them turned to look at him, who was staring up at Matthew with a sad glare. His anger vanished and was replaced by a deep guilt. Matthew scooped up the bear and hugged him closely, burying his face against the top of his head. "Je suis tellement désolé… (I'm so sorry…)," he murmured to Kumajiro.

"Ne soyez pas stupide (don't be dumb)," the polar bear mumbled back.

"Oui…" Matthew straightened slightly and smiled apologetically. "It's been a long day… When I didn't see Kumakowa next to me I kind of panicked," he shrugged slightly. "When he asked that, I was just so relieved to see him again I guess you could say I was a little overwhelmed," he chuckled slightly, feeling awkward.

"I suppose," Ivan said with a small shrug as he watched the door where their waitress had vanished.

The next few minutes where quiet, in which Matthew focused on trying to relax a little. _Pretend you're just sitting with Alfred,_ he thought as the waitress reappeared with a large tray and placed each dish in its appropriate spot before rushing away. He glanced at Ivan who was staring at the plate in front of him with a very critical stare. Matthew snorted slightly as he dipped his spoon into his soup, pushing the spoon away from him then lifting it to his lips. _Russia is not Alfred._

As they ate Matthew noticed that Ivan had retrieved his small book he had been reading earlier and was reading it again. "Is it good, Russia?"

Ivan looked up and smiled. His dark aura seemed to be gone and he actually seemed like he was in a good mood, to an extent, which made the pancake lover a little bit nervous. "Da, eto ochen' khorosho (it's very good)."

Matthew blinked. "Quoi..?"

"It's good," Ivan said glancing up at him with a slightly annoyed expression before returning his gaze to his book. Matthew shot him an unseen glare then went back to his food.

'Do you think he has to be so rude?' he mouthed at Kuma who was looking up at him with his head tilted. He shook himself a little, _I'm not going to let him ruin a good meal._

Matthew glanced at Kuma who had already licked his plate clean and was now watching his owner with a bored expression. 'What do you think, good idea?' Matthew mouthed at the small bear, who simply tilted his head to the side.

 _If he hadn't wanted to come to dinner with me he wouldn't have come. Russia isn't someone who pretends to be nice for other people._ He remembered that Russia had only agreed to come when he had offered to pay for the meal. _He still could have said no…_ he looked back up at Ivan in time to watch him close the small book he had been reading. He looked slightly satisfied with something as he began to eat at a normal pace. Matthew quickly returned to his food as well, wondering if he should apologize about the restaurant choice again.

"You take good notes," Ivan said as he took a swig from his bottle.

Matthew looked up at him confused. "Quoi?"

"Da," Russia nudged the book he had been reading across the table. With a sudden jolt of recognition, the Canadian realized it was his notebook.

Matthew dropped his spoon. "Co-co-co-?" he stammered as he patted his jacket, searching for his notebook but found all his pockets empty. "Comment (how)?"

"It was right where you sat," Ivan said as he shrugged. "I was thinking I always see you taking notes during the meetings so I started to read it. That is when your bear came out from under the table and curled up in lap." Matthew stared at him, disbelieving. "Da, your bear said something about not getting enough sleep and stupid America?"

Kuma nodded firmly. "Stupid America."

Matthew continued to stare at him confused. "But why did you-?" He picked up his notebook, shifting his gaze to it instead.

Ivan shrugged, taking a bite and swallowing it. "It was something to do."

Matthew's mind reeled. _Why didn't he tell me he had it… and why would Kuma—wait._ His thoughts repeated what Ivan had said then asked. "You were reading my notes before Kuma crawled in your lap? Then… why were you in the room at all, eh?"

When there came no answer, he looked up to see Ivan smiling pleasantly as an icy cold chill filled the room. "That is none of your concern."

Fear flooded the smaller male and he quickly looked down at his plate. A low growl came from Kuma and Matthew glanced first at him then at Ivan. A blank expression had come over the large nation as he watched Kumajiro glare at him. After a few moments a small smile curved his lips and a soft chuckle came from his chest. Ivan, his smile still in place, went back to finishing his meal as though nothing had happened. Matthew looked at Kuma who gave his owner an annoyed look. Matthew smiled a little then started back on his dish.

As the night continued, the long silence that had been stretching between them was making him feel more and more uncomfortable. He was nearly done with his meal, Ivan had finished his first and was now staring into space, drinking from his bottle every so often. As Matthew took up his spoon with his last bit of soup on it, a thought occurred to him.

"Russia?" He asked after he had swallowed. Ivan looked up at him making Matthew hesitate for a few moments. "Where are you headed after this?" He tried to sound light, as though simply starting a conversation would make his unease vanish.

Ivan smiled. "Why does it matter, da?"

"J- J'étais juste curieux (I was just curious)," Matthew mumbled glancing at his plate feeling a little annoyed.

"Chto (what)?"

Matthew looked up to find a confused and annoyed looking Ivan. _What'd I say?_ He panicked trying to remember what he said.

"Vous parliez français (you were speaking French)," Kuma grumbled next to him.

"O-oh! D-Désolé… I mean..! Sorry… I was just curious where you were headed is all…" Matthew corrected himself, _you hoser._

Ivan made no remark, instead he continued to smile pleasantly. Feeling as though his dark aura was starting to emanate from him again, Matthew focused his attention on Kuma who was attempting to crawl into his owners lap.

"What do you plan to do?"

A little surprised that he responded, Matthew looked up to see Ivan's violet gaze watching him closely. "Oh, uhm… I'm going to be going back to my hotel room to get some sleep… I have an early flight in the morning."

Matthew shifted under the older mans' gaze and felt relieved when he looked away seeming deep in thought as he took another swing of his vodka. As he set the bottle down he said, "da, that does sound like a good idea. I might do the same."

Their waitress walked up to them at this moment, placed the bill on the table then walked wordlessly away. Matthew caught a wide sinister smirk on Ivan's face before he took another drink. Sighing softly, Matthew picked up the bill, glanced at the price then placed a card inside before placing it back on the table.

"You drink too much."

Matthew felt his insides freeze at the sound of Kumajiro's voice. He slowly turned his mortified gaze at Kuma who was staring at Ivan with his head tilted to the side. Ivan slowly lowered the bottle, smiling widely at the bear. "I am believing you should not worry about it, da?" The dark aura which Matthew could hardly feel now seemed to double in its potency.

"K-Kuma…" Matthew murmured, feeling both scared of Ivan and defensive for Kuma. "You shouldn't say things like that, eh..?"

"Who are you?"

"Canada, your owner."

The polar bear curled up next to him as Matthew sighed a little. He looked up at Ivan, feeling as though he should say something about what Kuma said, just in time to watch him gulp down the last of his vodka in large swigs. "Er," Matthew started, _I guess Kuma did have a point…_ "I'm… about Kuma…" he said it more like a question, "I'm sorry about what he said… he's not used to seeing people... uhm... drink a lot.. other than Francis…" He finished lamely as the waitress hurried over, grabbed the check and rushed off.

"It is no problem," Ivan said as he set down his now empty bottle and pulled out another smaller bottle from inside his coat, casting a rather large smile in Kuma's direction.

Matthew wrapped one arm around Kuma's middle and pulled him closer to him, shooting Ivan an annoyed glare.

"Thank you for choosing Français, please come again," the waitress' voice sounded next to him. Matthew looked up and saw her smiling at him, very pointedly ignoring Ivan whose smile and dark presence was increasing by the second.

"Merci (thank you)," Matthew smiled as signed the bill, giving a hefty tip. She hurried off as soon as he had handed her his receipt. He carefully slid out of the booth with one arm wrapped around Kuma making sure he didn't fall.

"Spasiba, comrade Matvey," Ivan stood after him, with his smile in place. Matthew couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or genuine.

"Oui… de rien (you're welcome)," Matthew mumbled holding Kuma close. Outside the restaurant they stood in a small awkward silence. Matthew glanced up at him and attempted a small smile. "Je-Je pense que (I-I think)—"

"Encore une fois, Français (again, French)," Kuma dug his claws gently into his arm.

"Ah..! I'm sorry," he rushed, his nervousness increasing. "I was saying that I think that I'll be heading back now…"

"Da," Ivan said giving him a confused look along with a small smile. "I should be going as well."

Matthew started forward, making sure to walk among the crowd going in the direction of the hotel. After a few feet he noticed that the crowd, which had been a little difficult to navigate, suddenly dispersed. Looking up he saw that Ivan had fallen into step next to him. He blinked, surprised. "Russia?" Ivan looked down at him, smile in place. "You wouldn't be staying at the hotel across from the office building, would you?"

Ivan's smile widened, his purple gaze becoming a little harder. "All of us are staying at the same hotel, da?"

"Well," Matthew stammered thinking about what he should say. He had overheard Alfred saying how Russia along with Belarus, Ukraine and the three Baltics stayed in a different hotel than the others. "I-I didn't think you would be…" he said feebly.

Ivan smiled down at him, his dark aura seeming to weigh heavy on Matthew who staggered slightly. "Nyet, you are wrong." An ice cold chill of fear coursed down the Canadian's spine and he quickly moved his gaze to the ground.

The rest of the walk to the hotel was in silence. As the building came into view, Matthew sighed feeling a little at ease. _The night is almost over,_ he thought smiling to himself. All he wanted at this moment was to go to his hotel room and collapse on the bed.

They walked through the doors, Matthew walking a few feet behind Ivan when he caught sight of an American flag. _I wonder if Alfred, Francis and Arthur are done with their dinner..._ he thought feeling a little guilty. _I wonder if they noticed I wasn't there? I should try to talk to them later, and apologize at least for not going with…_

They had walked across the lobby and were heading towards the stairs when a shout filled every vacant space in the room. "CANADA!"

Matthew's heart sank and a flare of panic filled the empty spot. He darted forward unconsciously hiding behind Ivan. In an instant he realized what he'd done and quickly looked up at the larger man, terrified of what he might do as he looked back at him with one brow raised. He took a step back away from him, thinking that he probably shouldn't hide behind him, but Ivan moved with him continuing to hide him from sight.

"Oh, it's just Russia," Matthew heard Alfred say, sounding annoyed.

"Da," Ivan spoke, undoubtedly with his smile in place.

"Have you seen Canada?" Francis asked, "we were supposed to go to dinner but he wasn't there."

"Nyet, I have not," Ivan said. Matthew wasn't sure if it was the threatening note in his voice that made him sound so convincing or if it was something else.

"Damn," he heard Arthur curse. "I swear he was with us when we left."

"Maybe he ditched us," Alfred said, sounding annoyed.

"Non! Mon cheri would never!" Francis said angrily. "I raised him better than to do something like that! He may have simply gotten distracted with something."

"What if he was angry about the meeting? Or maybe the fact that Alfred dragged him out of the room without asking him how he felt put him off?"

"Yoh! Don't blame me!"

"What if it is America's fault?! If you hadn't dragged mon cheri-!"

It was here that Matthew felt a cold chill crawl down his back. Glancing up at Ivan, he saw a large dark smile spreading across the side of his face that he could see. An even darker invisible aura was coming off of him in invisible cold waves. The other's must've felt it too because they stopped arguing and a short silence followed.

"Well, I'm gonna go up to my room! Tony says they have all the TV channels here!" Alfred said as he laughed loudly in the way he does when he's nervous.

"I need to head to my own room as well, I'm overdue for a hot cup of tea," Matthew heard Arthur say as well as receding footsteps.

"Wait, don't leave me behind!" Francis' footfalls were heard directly after.

"So stupid," came Ivan's voice as he glanced back and down at Matthew with a slightly crazed expression. "How do you put up with them?"

"W-well…" Matthew stammered taking a step away from him.

"Family," Kumajiro said. Matthew smiled at the bear in his arms then looked up at Ivan and nodded slightly, trying not to look him directly in the face. He accidently met Ivan's eyes and saw that he was looking at him with an emotionless look. Shifting uncomfortably he stepped around him and moved towards the stair case. "W-well, I'll see you around I suppose. Thank you for not letting them know I was here."

"They went up the stairs you know," Ivan said and Matthew froze in his tracks.

"Merde (shit)," he cursed, biting his lip. _Maybe I could sneak around them? Or if I moved quickly they won't be able to see me?_ He thought staring up at the staircase. He started forward again and felt a hand drop onto his shoulder making him jump out of his skin.

"Were you not hearing?" Ivan said with an annoyed smile. "I said that the three you are avoiding went this way."

"O-O-Oui, je vous ai entendu (I heard you)…" Matthew murmured feeling the color drain from his face.

"He heard you," Kumajiro said, giving his owner a berating look.

Matthew felt his stomach clench at Ivan's increasingly agitated expression. "Yes," he said slowly, making sure he was speaking in English. "I-I meant to say that… uhm, I'll be able to sneak by them."

Ivan tilted his head slightly. "They are on a floor higher than your room?"

"N-not exactly…"

"What floor then?"

"W-well, I'm on the fifth floor… and I th-think they're on the first…"

Ivan frowned. "You are making little sense. You will run into them if you climb the stairs. You were planning on climbing five flights of stairs?"

"W-well—"

"Why don't you just take the elevator?"

"N-non…" he shook his head. "I don't mind taking the stairs—"

"It would be easier if you went in elevator," after Matthew hesitated again Ivan sighed. He moved his hand from his shoulder to his arm and practically dragged him towards the elevators.

"Russie...?" Matthew stammered watching the metallic doors draw closer as alarm shot through him.

"I will be helping you save time and trouble, da?" Ivan pressed the round button with an arrow pointing towards the ceiling which glowed with a faint orange light. "Your way of thinking is not making the sense."

"M-mais (wait)—!" he was cut off by the soft ding and the doors quietly sliding apart. Matthew then proceeded to be dragged inside. Ivan hit the buttons first with the five then six on it. "At-attendre (hang on)!" Matthew said, trying to reach the doors before they closed but Ivan's grip allowed little movement. His breath caught in his throat as he stared at his slightly warped reflection. The metal box around them lurched slightly and a light pressure pressed down on his shoulder as they started to move upward.

"See?" Ivan said smiling as he let go of his arm, "much better."

 _No-no-no-no-no-no-no,_ he thought panicking slightly as he slowly backed into the corner of the elevator. The metal box gave a lurch and Matthew tensed as an image of the cable snapping and then plummeting down to the bottom of the elevator shaft in a metal grinding crash went through his mind. He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his face into Kumajiro's soft fur.

"Deep breathes," Kumajiro's small voice sounded in his ear. He pulled away and met his warm beady eyes. He nodded smiling slightly then pressed his face back into him and started to take deep slow breathes.

"It will be much faster now," Ivan spoke up. Matthew glanced up to find the Russian watching him. Matthew nodded then turned his attention to the doors, wishing they would open.

A soft ding sounded and Matthew looked up to see the number two displayed on the small counter above all of the numbers. Horrid elevator music played softly, adding to the tension in the small compartment. The Canadian looked up at Ivan to see him smiling, standing completely still and staring at the opposite wall. An awkward feeling settled on Matthew and he looked down at Kumajiro who was watching his owner closely. The elevator at that moment gave a slight shudder and he flinched.

"Je ne peux pas faire cette (I can not do this), Kuma…" Matthew whispered hugging him closer. It felt as though with ever shudder, with every small lurch, every small noise the elevator box would drop.

"Vous serez très bien (you'll be fine)," Kumajiro whispered back nuzzling his owner.

It felt as though several hours had passed until there came another soft ding and the number five appeared in the small screen as the doors slide silently open. Matthew bolted out into the hallway and took a deep breath.

"Good job," Kumajiro said as he licked his owner's cheek.

"Comrade Matvey?" He turned to find Russia staring at him with a rather serious expression, his hand held up to where the doors slide out from, preventing them from closing.

"O-oui, Russie…?"

Ivan smiled. "Thank you again for the dinner."

"Oui… it's fine."

"We should go out for dinner again sometime."

"Oui… eh?" Matthew blinked. "Quoi?"

"Da," Ivan smirked, "only next time we will be going to Russian restaurant. They serve good vodka and food."

Matthew blinked again shocked. _Is he trying to pay me back…?_ "Uhm…" he started a little unsure. Ivan was looking at him expectantly, his violet gaze watching him closely. "S-sure…" he said slowly, shocked to hear himself agreeing.

Ivan smiled and Matthew was taken aback by how genuine it looked. "Da. Well then, have a good night, comrade." He moved his hand away from the elevator doors, which slid shut and a soft whir of mechanics were heard as the metal box rose higher still.

"That… was a little strange… don't you think?" Matthew asked Kumajiro who wiggled out of his owners arms to walk besides him.

"Weird," said the polar bear, nodding as they headed down the empty hallway.

Matthew sighed deeply. "That was terrible…. but I'm glad this night is finally over… I can't wait to get some sleep. We do have an early flight."

"Home."

"Yes," Matthew smiled as he reached his room. From his pocket he pulled the key and after swiping it through a small slot, went inside. Most of his luggage was just where he had left it; right next to the front door. The only suitcase that was open was the one he had left in the bedroom which held a clean set of clothes and bathroom utilities. As he walked into the bedroom, Matthew slid out of his suit, kicking off his shoes and slipping out of his pants. He crawled onto his bed as Kumajiro slid up next to him, enjoying his company and glad to be out of his stuffy suit. As he tried to fall asleep, his mind wandered back to the events that had happened earlier that day, mostly to his dinner with Russia.

 _I don't think I ever said thank you to him for watching Kuma,_ he thought suddenly. _If I see him tomorrow, I will have to try and remember._ With that last thought firmly fitted into his resolve, he fell into a deep and comfortable sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**((authors note: Hey guys! Here's the third chapter! I hope you enjoy it as much as the last two! I am currently working on the fourth and I hope to get it out as soon as I can. Thank you for the continual reviews, favorites, and follows! Now have fun reading!))**

 ***I DO NOT OWN HETALIA NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN IT***

Chapter 3

Matthew woke to the alarm going off in his room. With a low groan he reached over to turn it off, almost flattening Kuma in the process. The polar bear made a disgruntled grunt, shooting his owner a glare.

"Désolé, Kuma," Matthew said with a small smile. "Time to get up though, they have a breakfast thing going on from six to nine remember?" He checked his clock which read 5:30am.

He carefully climbed out of his bed, ruffling his already disheveled hair. "When I get out of the shower you'd better be awake," he threatened giving Kuma a light poke in the side, holding back a smile.

Kuma grunted again, turned around on the bed and laid back down with his backside facing Matthew. Chuckling softly, he proceeded into the bathroom to take a warm shower. Fifteen minutes later, Matthew walked out of the bathroom feeling much better with a towel around his waist and ruffling a smaller one through his hair.

"Kuma?" He walked into the bedroom to find that his bear was watching television. Matthew grinned as he sat next to him. "Glad you're up, what are you watching, eh?"

"Coming up next, will a break ever come to the economy? Stay tuned."

Matthew's heart sank a little as he reached over and flicked off the television. "You really don't need to be watching that kind of stuff, do you?" He chuckled uneasily as Kuma tilted his head up at him. He walked over to his suitcase that wasn't by the door and pulled out the outfit that had been tucked away inside. "I'll be out in a second," he said moving back towards the bathroom then paused thinking. _I'm not sure if Kuma would like the hotel's pancakes…_ "Hey, why don't I feed you what's left of your fish first, eh?"

"Why?"

"I don't think you'd like the pancakes here," Matthew laughed. "And I didn't give you the rest last night, besides I could make some when we get home if you'd like."

"Sounds good," Kuma said rolling over onto his back.

After coming from the bathroom for the second time, Matthew walked back into the bedroom wearing his much loved teal hoodie, jeans and sneakers to find Kuma by the window. "Kuma?"

"Arthur."

"Quoi?" He walked across the room and opened the blinds, far below, across the already bustling street he could see that Arthur was speaking to Alfred. The only reason he could spot the two blondes was due to the fact that Alfred was swinging his arms around ecstatically. "What is he doing…?" He asked exasperated.

"Arthur's leaving?"

"I guess so," Matthew smiled slightly down at Kuma. _I wish I could've apologized..._ he thought looking back down at them in time to see Arthur get into his car. _I'll call him when I get home._ Shaking his head, he moved away from the window. "I'm a hoser, Kumashiro… I shouldn't have left them like that, even if they had forgotten about me. I'll have to apologize to them when I have a chance."

He looked back down at Kuma who was staring at him blankly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Canada, your owner," he smiled slightly and scooped the bear from the ground and nuzzled into him.

"Fish now?"

"Yes, yes," Matthew laughed and put the bear back down before walking over to the mini fridge that had a small black cooler inside. He pulled it out and took off its lid, inside was half melted ice and on top of this was a damp paper bag that was wrapped around a plastic bag. Taking this out, he sat on the floor crossing his legs and carefully pulled out three fish from the bag then laid them out on the floor on top of the bag.

"Thanks," Kuma said as he picked up on of the fish and took a large bite. Matthew nodded with a smile then went around the room making sure they had packed everything and nothing was going to be forgotten.

"That was good," came Kuma's voice after a while and he looked over to see that the bear was laying on his back, fish bones strewn across the plastic bag in front of him.

"I'm glad you liked it," Matthew walked over and picked up the mess, careful not to drop anything as he brought it over to a trash can and tossed everything into it. "Ready to go?" He asked as he walked over to his only open suitcase and closed it picking it up. Kuma nodded, rolling over and lazily walking over to one of his owners' suitcases that had wheels and climbed onto it.

There was a knock at the door. Matthew glanced at the door confused before looking back at his bear. "You think that's housekeeping?" Kuma shrugged nonchalantly as he started licking one of his paws.

Walking over to the suitcase that Kuma was on, he grabbed the handle and wheeled him to the door. "Just a second," he called as he opened the door with his free hand then grabbed his other suitcase holding the door open with his foot.

"Hey, Bro!" Matthew looked up so quickly his neck cracked. Wincing in pain, he looked up at Alfred who grinned at him. "Surprised you, didn't I? Ha! You should see your face!"

"Al..? What are you doing here? I saw you down with Arthur, how did you get up here?"

America gave him a lopsided grin. "Dude, there are elevators here! I know you don't like them but that doesn't mean you don't know about them! Oh! Bro! Let me totally help you!" Alfred grabbed the suitcase that Kuma wasn't on and hoisted it out of his hands. "I'll be the mighty Hero! Helping out my little brother!" He grinned at the larger country.

"Right," Matthew said unable to suppress a smile. Although Alfred sometimes bugged the living maple out of him, he did enjoy having him around.

As they started down the hall Matthew felt his content slowly turn to discomfort as his thoughts continued to train back to last night's dinner. "So, Alfred…" he started, intending to apologize.

"So, Bro! Are you, like, doing anything today?"

Matthew blinked at the excited looking Alfred and smiled slightly. "Well, yes, I have a plane to catch."

"What?! Where's the fun in that? You should totally come with Tony and me! We're going to go see this movie that just came out! It's got this monster that will blow your freaking socks off! You can call the airport and cancel your flight out! It won't be a problem!"

"Alfred," Matthew said, feeling his discomfort grow, "I would like to but I promised Kuma that I would—"

"C'mon Mattie! The movies won't scare you! And if you do get scared, I'll protect you! I'm the hero after all! I won't let any monster get you or murder your face!"

"Alfred, the monsters in the movies aren't real," Matthew said with a smile, getting caught up in his excitement.

"How do you know? Have you ever seen one? I tell you they are real! I remember this one time England was talking to thin air—THIN AIR MATTIE! He can see the monsters, he used to torment me with them! I know they're real! But just because they're real doesn't mean they'll get you, because they won't, because I'll protect you!"

Matthew tilted his head back and laughed, he couldn't help it. The earnest expression on Alfred's face, the way he swung his arm around and around as he became increasingly enthusiastic, it was too much. He stopped walking and clutched his stomach with his free hand wheezing slightly as he tried to stop laughing.

Alfred stared at him with wide eyes. "Mattie? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Matthew looked up and saw a slightly hurt expression on America's face. He waved a hand as he straightened. "I'm sorry, Alfred. I'm not laughing at you," he smiled, "it's more like a relief. I didn't realize I missed you so much." There was a pause in which Matthew worked to control his breathing before he realized what he said and how true it was. _I…I do miss him… and papa and Arthur…_ guilt again taking hold of him he straightened and looked at Alfred who had a strange expression on his face. "Alfred, about last night, I'm sorry that I—"

There was a soft ding and the brothers looked over to see that they were in front of the elevators. The metallic doors slid open to reveal two people, one of which got off the elevator with a terrified expression and headed for the stairs the other was Russia.

There was a few seconds of complete silence when Ivan spoke first. "Ah, comrade Matvey," he smiled darkly, "it is good to be seeing you again."

Matthew stared disbelieving into the elevator for a few seconds, before glancing at Alfred. A mix of emotions seemed to be battling on his brother's face; anger was visible followed by confusion and indignation. Worried that he would offend either if he remained silent, he turned back to Ivan. "B-Bonjour, Russie," he said hesitantly.

The larger man smiled then poked his head out of the elevator, placing one enormous hand against the door of the elevator preventing it to close. "I am not knowing why that man ran out as fast as he did. He got in same time as me and was headed for the lobby."

"You probably scared the shit out of him, dude!" Alfred said suddenly, throwing the other country a glare.

"Alfred," Matthew said quietly, "don't start anything crazy."

"Crazy? Me? I'm not crazy! It's him who's the psycho!"

Feeling the air grow cold, Matthew looked between the two and stammered a rather weak apology. A panic was growing inside of his chest, _as soon as I'm about to set things straight with Alfred, Russia shows up? Crap, I need to get him out of here before something bad happens._

"You don't have to apologize for him," Ivan said coolly, any trace of a smile now gone. "He means what he means." A tense silence filled the air, in which Kuma mumbled something that sounded very much like 'stupid America'.

"W-well, we'll just be going," Matthew said, grabbing Alfreds' arm and giving it a hard tug, adding in an under tone, "c'mon, hose-head."

"Hey! What did you call me?" Alfred turned an aghast look to his younger brother. Matthew, ignoring this comment, glanced over his shoulder to see Ivan watching them.

"Comrade?" Matthew paused in time to see Russia had reached out and grabbed a suitcase on the floor. "This would be yours, da? It has your flag."

"Oh," he noticed red maple leaf and nodded, "o-oui, merci…" _Alfred must have dropped it when he was swinging his arms around._ He let go of Alfred's arm and walked over to take it from Ivan. When he came close, he held is hand out for it but Ivan didn't move. He looked up at the much larger man to see him staring down at him with a violet gaze. "Russia..?"

"It's funny, da? Second time I'm returning something of yours," Ivan said with a small smile.

"Er… yeah," Matthew said, very aware of Alfred's gaze burning a hole in the back of his head.

Ivan handed him his suitcase then said, "thank you again for last night, the dish you recommended was very nice. And I did mean what I said afterwards, we should go eat again, it was fun," he smiled, "terrifying an American waitress was very amusing."

Matthew managed a small smile, taking back the suitcase, "y-yeah, sure."

"Do svidaniya (bye), comrade," Ivan said smiling pleasantly, moving his hands so the elevator doors began to close. Just before they shut Matthew saw the pleasant look vanish to be replaced by a dark glare, the violet gaze fixed on a point behind the Canadian.

Matthew stared, shocked, at the spot where he had seen his dark expression last then turned to look at Alfred. A slightly scared look had taken over his face as the American stared at the closed elevator doors. Understanding came to him then and he hurried to see if his brother was handling it well enough, "Alfred? Are you alright?"

Alfred's gaze slid down to Matthew and a slightly angry expression took over the scared one. "Sure," he said as he walked over and grabbed the suitcase from Matthew and started walking down the hall again. "Let's get going."

Matthew stared after him for a second worried. _Crap…_ He rushed to catch up with him, "Alfred, what's up, eh?"

"Don't worry about it," Alfred said as they reached the stairs pointedly not looking at him.

"Non," Matthew reached out and touched his shoulder, "I'm going to worry about it because you're my brother! What happened? Was it that look Russia gave you? You know he always—"

Alfred jerked away from Matthew's touch. "Leave it alone, Matt, jeez."

Matthew watched Alfred walk down the flight of stairs, his eyes wide with his hand still outstretched. An image of Alfred jerking out of his touch the previous night flashed through his mind and an anger welled up inside of him. Curling his hands into fists he walked down the staircase quickly catching up with America quicker than he thought and moved to stand in front of him. He was on the step lower than Alfred so he had to look up in order to see Alfred's sky blue eyes.

Alfred stopped walking and stared down at the Canadian with an aggravated look. "What?"

"Don't you 'what' me!" Matthew said then paused, shocked to hear how loud his voice was.

"Dude!" Alfred said, holding up his free hand, "you don't have to yell!"

"Don't you jerk away from me and ignore me!" Matthew said loudly. "I'm here dammit! I'm not some invisible wall that you can just ignore and then pay attention to when it's convenient for you!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Alfred took a step back, "where is this coming from?"

"Where is this coming from…?" Matthew asked his voice dimming down into his usual hushed tones before rising to challenge Alfred's obnoxiously loud laughter. "Last night! Last night you… you hoser! Yes, I was with you when we were walking to the restaurant! But I looked down and Kumaetchly wasn't there! I went to tell you, Arthur, and Francis but not one of you listened to me! You didn't even look at me! You just brushed me aside like you always do!" There was a voice in his head telling him to shut up and stop talking, to apologize for being so inconsiderate, but his anger was screaming in his ears making it hard to concentrate on anything else.

"Brush you aside…? Mattie, what are you talking about?" Alfred looked as though his anger had doubled. "Did you even try to get our attention?! Did you know what even happened when we got to the restaurant? France turned around and had a fucking hissy fit, do you even know how embarrassing it is to have a full grown man break down in a crying fit next to you?" Matthew opened his mouth but Alfred started yelling so loud that the hallway began echoing with his voice. "No! You need to know this before you go on your whole fucking tangent, Canada! Do you know what we did when we found you weren't there? We spent two fucking hours looking for you! We didn't go eat dinner! And you want to know who got all the blame for you being gone? I did! It was all 'stupid America's' fault for losing his little brother! And what do I found out? That you went out with that communist Russia! I heard him! You two probably had a fucking blast, didn't you? Did it even cross your shitty ass mind that we might be looking for you? Probably not because your head is so far up your ass you can't see the light of day!"

A cold wave passed over Matthew as Alfred raged at him. It felt as though the step he was standing on vanished underneath him and he was slowly falling downward. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Alfred watched him for a few seconds opening and closing his mouth before he scoffed and shoved the suitcase back into its owner's arms, nearly pushing Matthew backwards down the steps

"Right, see you later then," and he brushed past him, walking down the rest of the steps and vanishing on the floor below.

Canada stood, swaying slightly, staring at the vacant space that only seconds before held an angry red faced America. Looking down he saw that Kuma was watching him with his head tilted to the side like usual. "Kuma…? I... I made a mess of things, didn't I?"

"Who are you?" He asked, tilting his head the other way.

Matthew took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly. "I'm Canada…" Composing himself he shifted the suitcase he had been holding so it was more comfortable and started his slow track down the staircase. _Crap,_ with every step that word echoed in his mind. He felt numb and almost lost his footing as he descended the last few stairs. As he reached the bottom stairs he paused, staring blankly at the lobby looking for the certain blonde that had marched off but didn't see him. _What is wrong with me?_ His appetite gone he walked numbly through the lobby and out the double doors.

"Hey," he looked down to see Kuma staring up at him. "What about breakfast?"

Matthew waved a hand vaguely as he looked out to find a taxi. "I'm not hungry… let's just get out of here, eh."

After waving down a taxi, loading his suitcases into the trunk, getting into the backseat with Kuma in his lap, and telling the driver where he needed to go, he slumped in his seat with a soft groan. Kuma glanced at the back of the drivers head then leaned forward and closed the small window that was between the front and back seats. He then turned and sat on Matthews knees. "You okay?"

Lifting his head up to look at his friend, Matthew offered a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry to worry you, Kumazino, I don't want to be a bother…" Kuma frowned and dug his claws into his leg enough to cause discomfort. "Okay..!" Matthew whispered wincing slightly at the feeling, "I might be a little less than fine… Alfred really—"

The French anthem suddenly filled the car making the two of them jump. One hand diving into his pocket he fumbled with his phone for a few seconds then quickly hit the green phone icon and held the device up to his ear. "Oui, Papa?"

"Oh mon Matthieu! Comment allez-vous? Où étiez-vous l'autre soir? Je pensais que vous aviez été kidnappé! Tout va bien? Je jure que je vais tuer l'Amérique! Alfred est absolument inutile! D'abord, nous avons passé tout— (Oh, Matthew ! How are you doing? Where were you the other night? I thought you'd been kidnapped! All is well? I swear I'll kill America! Alfred is absolutely useless! First, we spent all—)"

The deluge of French through the ear piece made him wince. "Papa—!" he tried, "ralentissez (slow down)!"

There was a pause on the other end. "I'm sorry, mon cher (my dear), but I am so worried about you! Alfred said he was going to find you this morning to find out where you disappeared to last night, I told him I would go but… Canada? Matthieu? What's wrong?!"

Unable to suppress it, Matthew had started to cry, his failed attempts at stifling his sobs had gotten through to Francis. "Papa," he whispered, trying to control himself, "J'ai foiré (I messed up)."

"Non! You have not! Tell me what has happened!" In quiet tones, Matthew went through the story of the previous night and ending with the scene with Alfred on the stairs, hiccupping now and then. It took about ten minutes to explain everything, Matthew was feeling a little better but Francis had gone quiet.

"Papa…?"

"So…" came France's voice through the receiver, speaking as though he was thinking through every word before speaking. "You went to dinner with Russia?"

Matthew nodded, then stopped himself, _papa can't see me_. "Oui… though I don't think I should have invited him to dinner…"

"Non, I don't think you shouldn't have… though I don't think you should have."

"…eh?"

Francis chuckled slightly. "You are in a fickle situation, mon fils mignon (my cute son)! In any case, I'm glad you found Kumajiro and that you did get something to eat after all. Oooo! But tell me! How was Russie? Was he difficult to deal with? Or was he actually a gentleman?"

Matthew felt heat rise to his face as he heard the suggestive note in Frances' voice. "Papa! That's not important right now..!" _Why am I getting all flustered?_ He shook his head slightly, "I'm sorry that I didn't come back after getting Kuma… I just… felt as though I needed to thank Russia for looking after him…"

"Well in that case, I think you are fine. Though," here his voice turned a little hard, a father scolding his son, "you should have texted me or any of the others to tell us what happened! We could have helped you find Kuma and then had dinner! But it didn't end badly now did it?" Here he laughed sounding slightly crazed.

"Papa!"

"Je suis désolé ma douce (I'm sorry my sweet), you are just so cute to tease!" There was a silence in which Matthew could hear Francis chuckling while the Canadian tried hard to suppress his sudden discomfort.

"Francis?"

"Oui, Cana?"

"…I'm really sorry."

There came a long sigh on the other end. "I know… truthfully, I don't blame you. I know we don't give you the attention you want, Cana. You have always been in America's shadow, even when you were just un petit enfant (a small child). He does drag you around a lot especially when you come to his country to visit. You did have to deal with him dragging you around Central Park the other day, so having a night off isn't so bad. But you know that we all love you, you are family and we do try," here he scoffed slightly, "that stupid brit is getting better at remembering you, I still don't understand how he could think his stupid brat resembles mon enfant mignon (my cute child)!"

Matthew smiled and felt a sense of relief wash over him. "Merci beaucoup (thank you a lot), papa…"

"Bien sûr (of course)! However, as your père (father) I will have to tell you to call them and politely apologize!"

"Oui, papa."

"Now! How you say, 'the important matters' are out of the way, tell me all the details! How was that brut of a man? I bet he's as warm as a kitten inside, non?"

Matthew laughed, "if you mean a saber tooth tiger, then oui."

Francis laughed on the other end then his voice turned teasing. "But you are avoiding my question, how was it?"

"Well…" Matthew paused thinking back to the dinner. "It… it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good? He gets mad easily, eh, and he gives off this bad vibe that scares everyone away."

"But not you?" Matthew paused. There was something in Francis' voice that made him feel a little anxious, _maybe it's nothing…? I'm over thinking…_

"I suppose so…?" he finally answered weakly.

"Hey, pal." Matthew jumped so badly he nearly dropped his phone, looking up he saw that the taxi had stopped in front of the airport and the driver was holding the door open looking inside at him with a very annoyed expression. "Ya, gottta get out. I can't sit here all day while you yak."

"O-oh! Sorry! H-hold on papa," he quickly slid out of the back seat, holding Kuma with his free arm.

"Here's your luggage," the driver gestured towards the curb where his two suitcases were sitting.

"Oh! Thank you..! H-here," fumbling with his wallet, phone and Kuma, he paid the driver who was looking more annoyed by the second.

The man tucked the money in his pocket and without another word got back in his taxi and pulled out into the traffic.

"Papa?"

"Matthieu, you should not let your papa wait this long!"

Matthew sighed slightly, "oui Francis… I do need to let you go… can I call you when I get home?"

"Oui! But of course, Je t'aime (I love you) mon chéri! Call me when you're home! You need to finish telling me what happened!"

"Oui… Au revoir (goodbye), papa," hanging up the phone he sighed as he picked up his suitcases and headed for the airport terminal. As he made his way through the crowd, mumbling apologizes to those he bumped into and to Kuma who growled more than once for being squished, a thought occurred to him. "Having Russia around at a time like this wouldn't be too shabby now wouldn't it?" he asked Kuma who looked up at him with a dark look.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Canada, your owner," he said with a smile tugging on the edges of his lips. "Let's get home, eh?"

Making their way onto the plane was a difficult hour. First he had to change his ticket time and then had gotten into an argument with the airport management about Kuma before the head of the airport showed up and gave him the all clear. Sighing he relaxed in his seat, glancing at Kuma and feeling a little annoyed. In order not to scare any of the other passengers, he had gone into stuffed animal mode. The polar bears' frozen glare directed straight at Matthew was slightly amusing and slightly terrifying. Matthew offered a small smile at him then, after a quick glance around, murmured, "remember, I'll make you as many pancakes as you want once we're home. Besides, at least you're here with me and not in the cargo hold…" Kuma snorted softly sounding annoyed but his glare drastically softened. Taking this as a good sign, Matthew settled back in his seat, ready for the ninety minute flight to be over with.

 _I can't wait to get home…_ he stared out the small circular window watching the runway sliding past as the plane started to take off. _Everything should go back to normal after a few days… I'll call Alfred and apologize, Arthur too._ Feeling much better than he had when he had first gotten into the taxi, he relaxed in his seat. _I'll explain things to Alfred and tell him that it was just my way of repaying Russia for watching Kuma. It should be alright in the end, besides, I'm probably never going to go to dinner with Russia again even if he said we should._ He felt a slight sadness at the thought but brushed it aside. _It's probably for the best._

For the next hour and thirty minutes he busied himself with magazines and watching the ground thousands of miles below. When the plane finally touched down, Matthew was jolted out of a light doze to find Kuma sitting in his lap. "We're here," he said looking happy, "can I have pancakes now?"

"Not yet," Matthew smiled with a large smile, "I'll make you some when we get home!" Kuma scoffed as Matthew picked him up and moved with the rest of the crowd to get off the plane.

Standing outside of the airport Matthew took a deep breath and felt the last of his tension leave his body. "Oh finally," he murmured staring around at his capital. _No more drama! No more anything! Just going to go home, make some pancakes and have a great rest of the day._

"Ah, comrade!"

It felt as though a cold bucket of ice water had been dumped on his head. Whipping around he stared up at the large man standing almost directly behind him with a pleasant smile on his face. "Q-q-q-q-" his mouth hung open in shock as he watched the other man look around with apparent interest. "Quoi…?!"

"I have never been to your capital before, Canada. It seems nice."

"R-Russia?!"

Ivan looked back at Matthew and smiled. "Da?"

"Quoi la enfer (what the hell)!?"

"Chto?"

"What are you doing here!?"

He tilted his head slightly, that slightly maddening smile in place. "I thought that is obvious?"

"…eh?"

"I'm visiting another country… which is you," he added as an afterthought.

"B-but..?"

"I am hoping that it won't be much of a bother? I know you won't be minding too much."

"E-eh? W-well…"

"It will only be for a short while. Maybe you can show me sights, da?"

Matthew stared up at Ivan feeling a whirlwind of emotions rage inside of him. "U-um…" Ivan looked expectantly down at him, Matthew bit his lip in his unease. "W-well, you see I wasn't really…" he trailed off.

Ivan's expression had gone from pleasant to threatening in a blink of an eye. "Daaa?" He trailed as waves of cold darkness seemed to start slowly seeping from him again.

"W-well," Matthew started again, taking a half a step back, "I… I suppose if it wouldn't be for a long while…?"

"Velikiy (great)! Let's get a taksi (taxi), da?" and he promptly walked off, waving down one of the yellow vehicles, friendly smile in place once again.

Horrified, Matthew looked down at Kuma who was quite still, tucked in the nook of his elbow. "What… Kuma… what just happened?"

"…I don't know."

Matthew stared after Ivan who was now waving in his direction. "Comrade Matvey! You need to be hurrying now, da?"

 _What the hell is going on…?!_


	4. Chapter 4

**((authors note: Hello followers and fanfic readers! I'm trying to keep up with my story as best possible! I wrote myself into a brick wall and had to take a step back, reread a couple of chapters, and brainstorm to get back into my grove… I also made a few changes to the past chapters as I noticed several typos/translations errors that made my skin itch when I saw them, so it should be fixed! Thank you guys for being so patient! I hope you like this next chapter!))**

Chapter 4

No matter how Matthew thought about it, no matter how many scenarios he went through, there was no explanation for why Ivan was here. Slowly, he tried to sneak a peek at the older man without moving his head too much. Ivan was sitting straight back in his seat, staring out the window at the passing scenery with a smile.

 _What the crap?_ Matthew looked back at the taxi floor. _What is he thinking?_

The drive had been a silent one. After getting their luggage into the trunk of the taxi and settling in the back seat not a word had been spoken between the two. Usually the trip from the airport to his house was a short one, but today it seemed to be taking hours. _He can't possibly be here just for a visit, can he?_ Matthew looked up at Ivan again, watching his expression closely. _What is he after? Money? No… Russia isn't someone who asks for 'help' in any way… What could he gain from visiting me? What possibly possessed him to visit me of all countries?_

"Comrade?"

"Eh?" Matthew blinked, realizing that Ivan was looking back at him.

"You have the most peculiar expression on your face."

"O-oh? Sorry, I was just… sorry," Matthew felt his face flush in embarrassment and he quickly looked back down at the floor. There was no response from Ivan, which made Matthew's face flush deeper.

 _Great, now he caught me staring at him…_ feeling panicked he tried to turn his mind to the plans he had for when he reached home. _First, make some pancakes, next call Arthur and apologize, then... maybe I should attempt to call Alfred…?_ A sense of dread came over him then. _Alfred is going to hate this… he's not just going to hate this, his going to flip out. How do I even explain this situation to him? 'Hey, Alfred! You know that guy you really don't like? Yeah, Russia that's him! He's come to stay with me for no apparent reason for I don't know how long! Isn't that great?'_ He leaned over and pressed his forehead against the window, groaning internally, _once again when I'm planning on setting things straight Russia just pops up out of nowhere and makes things really complicated…_

"Sir? We're at your destination." Matthew looked up at the driver who was giving him a weak smile, shooting Ivan slightly terrified looks in the process.

"Oh, thank you..!" Matthew stumbled out of the car, trying to straighten his thoughts and quickly retrieved his luggage. He paid the taxi driver and offered another thanks while Ivan retrieved his belongings, staring up at the house that they were in front of. It was a two story house painted in a dark maple color with a large patio in the front. Curtains were drawn over the front and upper story windows but the lawn was well kept and the trees that surrounded it were full of leaves giving the house a friendly atmosphere.

"Finally," Matthew looked down to see Kuma staring up at the house, "home."

Matthew smiled, forgetting his troubles for a moment. "Yes, seems like forever, but it's only been a few days."

Kuma nodded then wiggled free of his owners grip, dropping to ground, and began trotting towards the door. "Pancakes now." Matthew grinned after him and hoisted up his suitcases to follow.

"You have a nice house, comrade Matvey."

Matthew jumped slightly then looked over to see Ivan standing next to him. "Th-thanks…" there was a long awkward pause as the taxi drove off.

"Are we going to be going inside now?"

"O-oh!" Matthew rushed forward, "of course, sorry…" leading the way up to the front door, he hesitated before going in his hand resting on the door knob. _This isn't going to end well, no matter which way I look at it… Just go inside, get him to his room and then maybe he'll just stay there?_ Attempting to convince himself of that, he opened the door and walked in, holding it open for Ivan.

The front door opened up into a small hallway, on the right was a staircase and off to the left was an archway opening up into a spacious living room with large windows giving a pleasant view of the patio, front lawn and driveway. Ivan, walking to stand in the archway, stared out into the room with mild interest. The room was furnished with one couch and two chairs, all the same color of light brown, and one coffee table sitting in front of them. On either side of the couch were two side tables with lamps resting on them and several picture frames. There were two bookshelves in two corners of the room, one filled with a variety of books and the other was filled with an assortment of movies. The floor was covered in a tan colored carpet and the walls were a pleasant ivory.

On the opposing wall there were three things that were distinctly different from the normal set up of the room. An enormous television was hanging in the center of the wall taking a large majority of the space there. On either side of the television there were two glass cases, one held a rather rugged looking hockey stick and the other held a blue jersey with a white maple leaf on the chest with the name "Toronto Maple Leafs" printed in the center. Both items were coated with black scribbles, as though someone had taken a black sharpie to both the jersey and stick.

Matthew had come up to stand next to Russia as he observed the room, noticing how the larger male gaze had paused on the TV, hockey stick, and jersey. "U-uhm…"

"Quite a large television you have," Ivan looked down at him with a raised brow.

"Y-yeah… watching hockey on that is awesome…"

"I see… what's in there?" Ivan pointed to another arch that lead into a different room.

"That's the kitchen and dining room… you can get to both down the hallway too," Matthew said feeling uneasy by the way Ivan was observing his house, it felt as though he was exposing his personal side leaving him feeling vulnerable. _It's because he's in your home, hoser!_ Wanting him out of his living room, Matthew gestured towards the staircase, "let me show you the guest room." Making his way up the stairs, he thought over and over. _Just because he's a jerk doesn't mean you can be a jerk_ , in an attempt to calm himself slightly.

"The guest room is right there," he pointed at the first door on the left as they reached the second floor. The second floor had a balcony that looked down on the front door and hallway. A wall blocked any visual on what was next to the guest room door as there was a wall preventing a view. "The bathroom is next to it and my room is down on the end," Matthew explained, looking up at Ivan apprehensively.

Without a word Ivan walked forward without glancing down the hall to his left and opened the guest room's door. The room was simple with only a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a rather large closet. There were two windows on the adjacent walls where the bed was, the walls and carpet were the same color as the rest of the house. Matthew watched Ivan apprehensively as he walked into the room, looking around, and placed his suitcase on the bed.

"It is quite pleasant," he said finally, looking over at the Canadian and smiling.

Blinking in slight surprise, Matthew stammered, "y-you think so?" _I was expecting some criticism or something, he can't be completely satisfied, can he?_

"Da," he looked around again, "though it is a little cramped, I ya ne slishkom uveren chto yesli ya mogu sootvetstvovat' na krovati (and I'm not too sure if I can fit on the bed). And the view from here is not like my view back home in Moscow."

Matthew sighed slightly. _Not too sure what he said there… but I'm sure that was it…_ "I'm sorry?"

"That is fine," Ivan grinned, but it looked more intimidating than friendly. "I will be surviving. Now, comrade, I will be needing to unpack. Spasibo for letting me stay with you awhile, Matvey."

"Er," Matthew nodded, "Yeah… I'll be, uhm… down in the kitchen if you need anything?" Ivan nodded then adverted his attention to his suitcase. "It's not like I had a choice…" Matthew mumbled as he made his way down to his room.

His room was exactly how he had left it. Posters and hockey sticks covered most of the wall space in his room, all signed by their rightful players. His dresser and bed were decorated with the leaves of a maple tree carved into the wood and his bed was covered with a Canadian flag bedspread. Setting his suitcase down next to his bed he then hurried back downstairs, noting that when he passed Russia's room the door was closed. _I wonder how this is going to work out…_ he thought, staring at the closed door before he descended down the steps. _Maybe I should ask Francis about this…_ Once downstairs he headed for the kitchen. "Kuma?"

"About time," came a curt reply.

Matthew paused once the kitchen came full into view then he grinned. The kitchen had dark gray marble counters, a large fridge, oven and dishwasher. The cupboards above the counters were the same color as the furniture in the living room as well as the kitchen table and chairs in the dining room, which lead into the kitchen.

Kuma had pulled out everything they would need in order to make the pancakes and set everything up on the marble counters. "Really, Kumajina?"

"I'm hungry," he said padding over and standing on his back legs so he could place his front paws on his owner's stomach.

"Okay, okay," Matthew laughed, "let's get started, eh?"

Matthew began putting all the basic ingredients into a large bowl as Kuma watched. His thoughts whirled around in his mind as he worked making it hard to concentrate on what he was doing.

"Hey."

Jumping, Matthew looked up to see Kuma giving him a concerned look with a paw on his hand. "You okay?"

"Sorry…" he muttered, staring into the bowls contents. "There's… a lot that's happened and I'm just not too sure what to do…"

Kuma watched him for a while then slid the bowl away from his owner. "Call Arthur."

"Eh?"

Kuma stared up at him with the best exasperated look a bear could give. "Start with the basics. Call Arthur. You want to apologize, right?"

"Well…"

"Then do it. It would make you feel better," he gave Matthew a gentle push with his nose.

Matthew hugged him quickly, grinning into the soft fur. "Thanks, Kumajiro, you're the best."

"Go on, dummy."

Matthew detached himself then moved to sit at the dining table, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He sat down then found the Englishman on his contacts and, hitting the call button, held the small device up to his ear. The phone rang only a few times before there was an answer. "Hello?"

"Hello, Arthur?"

There was a slight pause. "Oh! Canada! It is good to hear from you. How are you? Did you make it home alright? Sorry I couldn't see you off, but I had to catch my flight. This five hour difference thing is hard to get used to."

Matthew grinned. _He remembered me on the first try!_ "I'm good, thank you. I made it home without a problem and that's okay, not your fault, Arthur. But how about you? How was your flight?"

"The flight wasn't terrible. Actually managed to get onto the plane on time and, surprisingly, managed to get off the ground on time. I was able to get home at a reasonable hour and I had time to sit down with a nice cup of tea."

"That sounds like it was nice," Matthew could imagine Arthur sitting in his nice kitchen sipping at a cup of tea and enjoying the silence.

"Oh, Matthew, I wanted to ask you, before I left your brother cornered me when I was getting into a cab. He said he was going talk to you about last night, I know he can be a little spacy so I wanted to know, did he ever manage to do that?"

"Oh…" Matthew hesitated remembering their argument as well as the night before and his guilt, which had been momentarily forgotten, gave him a small pang as a reminder. "Y-yeah he did talk to me… not much about the other night… but that's why I wanted to call. I'm sorry for last night—"

"Forget it," Arthur spoke gently yet firmly. "Francis called me about an hour ago and explained the whole situation."

"Eh? He did?" _Papa called him…? He's the one that pushed me to call and apologize… wait, 'explained the whole situation'…?_

"Yes, I'm glad you were able to find Kumajiro but I agree with Francis, you should have tried to contact one of us to tell us where you were. It was a bloody mess, what with Alfred and Francis going to pieces about where you had gone off to."

Matthew, who had been about to ask what all Francis had told him, stopped. "Quoi? Alfred?"

"Yes, it was bloody ridiculous. He went into some sort of panic, yelling at passersby and asking where you were. It was quite a lot to deal with, what with Francis in tears and Alfred screaming at the top of his lungs."

"But I thought…" he trailed off. _Alfred had a panic attack…? But he didn't come off like that at all._

"You know that Alfred's pride won't let him admit that he did. But I have a quick question for you, did Alfred say anything specific to you?"

"Uhm…" he thought back for a moment, "no? He did ask if I wanted to go to the movies with Tony and him, but I had my plane to catch."

"Ah," there was a silence from the other end and then Arthur continued slowly. "Are you going to call him after we get off the phone?"

"I was thinking about it…" Matthew tried to be vague about it, dreading when he actually did have to call the louder country.

"Listen, when you do call him—" a sudden knocking noise from behind Matthew made him jump then look around. Ivan was hovering at the entrance to the dining area, smiling but looking uncertain. "O-oh," he offered a smile in return then turned his head continuing in much quieter tones. "Er, I'm going to have to let you go…"

"Oh?" Arthur sounded surprised then concerned. "Why? Matthew, are you alright? You don't sound quite right all of a sudden."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, just thinking about how loud Alfred is going to be when I call him," he said lamely, trying to lie about why his voice was now shaking a little. "I'll call you back some other time, alright?"

"…well okay then. Call me back soon and do make sure that you call Alfred. Talk to you later."

"Bye," hanging up, he turned to Ivan who had moved into the room and was now looking around. His gaze lingering on the cooking polar bear in the kitchen."

"You were not needing to get off of the phone because of me," Ivan said looking at Matthew, "I was just wanting to know what the smell was and I knocked so you would know that I was there."

Now that Ivan had mentioned it, Matthew could now detect the delicious aroma of pancakes that filled the room. "I-It's okay, I was just getting off anyway. S-sorry for not telling you sooner about the food… oh! But you're welcome to have some if you want! Kuma makes amazing pancakes."

"That's alright," Ivan said looking back at Kuma, "I didn't know that your polar bear could cook."

"Of course I can," Kuma said gruffly as he flipped a pancake onto a plate with such ease that only a great deal of practice could have given him.

After a glance at Ivan, Matthew walked into the kitchen and opened a cabinet to grab plates. _After breakfast I'll call Alfred… maybe… what do I even say?_ Sighing slightly, he turned and handed Ivan a plate. "You're welcome to have some if you want."

Ivan stared at Matthew for a second before looking at the plate. "…da," he said, sounding slightly unsure as he took the plate.

Catching the look, Matthew frowned a little. "What?"

"Are you quite sure that we won't be finding any hair in the food?" He said looking at the cook with a slightly amused look.

Kuma responded by giving him a dark glare. "Don't give him any."

"Kumaninro," Matthew frowned walking over, "he's our guest… kinda… we need to be nice. Here Russia," he had taken the spatula from Kuma and scooped up a pancake and held it out to him with ease. "Don't worry about it, Kuma is very good when making pancakes," Ivan hesitated for a second then slowly held his plate out, on which Matthew slid the pastry onto it then pointed to a bottle at the end of the counter. "That's the syrup, would you mind bringing it to the table for me?"

"Da," Ivan grabbed the bottle then moved to the table.

"Oh, if you want more you just have to ask," he called after him and Ivan nodded. Turning a disapproving eye to his bear, Matthew spoke quietly. "Kuma, I know he kinda barged in here unannounced and he hasn't really explained himself but we should be courteous. He's here for a good reason," he hesitated for a second, "probably."

"Ask him," Kuma said, still sounding annoyed.

"Eh?" Matthew blinked, "I can't just come out and ask him!"

"Ask. Him," Kuma said firmly. "We should know why."

Matthew stared at the bear who continued to glare at him before nodding. "You have a point…"

Without another word, Kuma pushed a plate piled with five pancakes, then pulled another plate forward and started piling the last pancakes onto it. Glancing up, Matthew saw that Ivan had been watching, his pancake untouched. Swallowing a hard lump that now formed in the middle of his throat, he quickly made his way over and sat down across from Ivan. The two locked eyes for a second then Matthew glanced down at his untouched pancake. "Are… you that unsure about it?"

Ivan looked down at it then cut it into, skewered the piece onto the end of his fork and ate it. Matthew hid a smile at the obviously failed attempt Ivan used to cover up his surprise. "Is it good?" Ivan looked up at him with a blank look and the pancake lover struggled to suppress the grin that was wanting to break across his face.

"Da, it is good."

"I'm glad," Matthew grinned. Just as he cut into his own a thought occurred to him. "You know," he said after swallowing his first bite, "this is the second time we're having a meal together within twenty four hours."

Ivan looked at him with one brow raised. "Da?"

Matthew's smile faded slightly and he returned his gaze to his plate. "I-I just… thought it was kinda… strange..? I mean we've never really dinned together before and n-now all of a sudden… we are…" He could feel the color in his face drain at the look Ivan was giving him. "I-It's not a-a bad th-thing…!" Wanting to put a stop to his sudden word vomit, he quickly cut through the five layers of pancakes, stabbed through every layer and shoved the fork into his mouth. _Gah! Why do I have to say such stupid things?_

Once again they sat in silence, Matthew trying to bring up the courage to speak when Ivan beat him to it. "You have a beautiful house," he commented as he reached into his coat and pulled out a flask.

"Eh?" _Did he just compliment me? I thought he hated it…_ "Th-thank you…?"

"Da," his violet gaze bore into Matthews' eyes and he smiled. Averting his gaze, Matthew looked back to his food feeling flustered. _What should I say?_ But again Ivan beat him to it, "Matvey, I would like to apologize for my sudden intrusion and thank you for accommodating me."

"A-ah," shocked, he looked up to find Ivan watching him with a serious expression. "W-well… it's no problem, really," Matthew smiled slightly, "I'm happy to help." _What am I saying..?! Stop being so nice!_ "Er… I was wondering… How long… are you going to be staying?" Ivan stared at him for a while then took a deep, long swig from his flask.

"As long as I need to." The reply rattled Matthew, Ivan's voice sounded filled with ice cold venom. Looking up, Ivan was giving his dining room table a murderous glare. Too scared to reply, Matthew quickly ate more of his pancakes. "Is that okay with you?" When Matthew looked up at Ivan again, his expression had softened to a friendly smile and his tone was pleasant. Blinking in surprise at his sudden change, Matthew nodded quickly, unwilling to speak as he remembered that horrifying expression.

"Thank you, Mattvey," Ivan said quietly and he adverted his gaze away from the Canadian's moving back to his plate.

Matthew stared at him for a second before turning to look at Kuma, who had walked up to the table and was now settling into a chair with a plate piled high with pancakes. _Was it just me or did Russia sound scarier than normal just then?_

"Very good," Kuma's said with a mouthful of pancakes.

Matthew smiled at him nodding. "Yes, thank you Kumafiko."

"Da," Ivan stood just then, his plate empty. "Thank you for the food," he walked over to the kitchen and put his plate into the sink. "If you don't mind, I will be going up to my room. If you need me, please feel free to call me."

"R-right…" Matthew watched him walk from the kitchen into the hallway and out of sight. Matthew looked up at the ceiling, hearing Ivan's heavy footfalls as he walked around. "Loud isn't he?"

Kuma made a soft grumbling noise that he knew as the bears' laughter. "Very. And annoying."

Matthew grinned leaned over and poked Kuma on his nose. "You need to work on your manners."

"Humph," Kuma said.

"And if you think he's so annoying," Matthew's grin widened, "why did you fall asleep in his lap after the meeting?"

Kuma's eyes narrowed. "Because, Canada is dumb."

Matthew chuckled. "You don't even sleep in Alfred's lap, but you did with Russia?"

Kuma went back to his food. "Russia was scared and angry."

Grin vanishing, he looked at Kuma with wide eyes. "Russia… scared? Hold on, why?"

Kuma ate a forkful of pancakes before responding. "Belarus was scaring him before Ukraine came in and took her away. He didn't want to leave with them."

"They… what?" Matthew's mind was reeling, _Belarus was scaring him…?_

"No, I guessed. I don't speak Russian," Kuma said as though it were obvious. "Belarus sounded threatening, Russia sounded scared. I felt like he needed… something."

"So…" Matthew spoke quietly, trying to get his mind wrapped around this new information, "you're assuming that Belarus threatened Russia? This made Russia scared until Ukraine came and took her away?"

"That's what I said."

"What could Belarus have done that scared Russia…?"

"Don't know."

"Wait, why didn't you mention this earlier?"

Kuma shrugged. "Wasn't important."

Matthew watched Kuma as he continued eating his pancakes, his own plate momentarily forgotten. "Do you think…" he said after a long pause, trying to make sense of the past several hours, "that Russia is here… because of that?" Kuma shrugged and Matthew sighed. "I should really try to get the answer out of him, eh?"

"Yes. Your house, you should know the reason."

Matthew slammed a fist down onto the table making Kuma jump. "Why am I dragged into this? Alfred is going to kill me… how am I ever going to explain this to him? How am I even going to explain this to Arthur? Or Francis!" He shuddered at the thought, remembering how he had reacted by the news of him simply going to dinner with the older man. "How did I get talked into this?"

"You didn't. Russia made you."

Matthew glared at the table. "I need to figure out why he's here…" Kuma nodded his approval as he picked up his now empty plate and began licking it clean. "I don't want to be rude about it though," Matthew said his determination slipping slightly.

"Too nice," Kuma said shaking his head.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Matthew said, feeling his cheeks warm slightly, "he might have a very good reason that he's not telling me. It really isn't my business anyway."

"He made it your business."

Matthew frowned. "Maybe I should be patient? What if he tells me on his own?" Kuma sighed, sounded exasperated, "I wouldn't feel so nosey then," he tried to reason with his bear, "how about this. I'll give him a month to tell me and if he hasn't told me then I'll be blunt and ask him. That way I give him more than enough time, besides I doubt he'll stay here that long. If he leaves before the month is over then I'll just forget this ever happened and move on. Stop shaking your head!"

The polar bear had begun shaking his head after his first sentence and hadn't stopped. "Too nice, too nice."

"Oh, be quiet! Would you rather I be like Alfred?" That got Kuma to stop. Matthew smirked grimly. "That's what I thought. So it's settled, we'll wait a month."

Matthew, feeling much better, finished the remainder of his stack of five pancakes then took his and Kuma's plate to the sink and began washing their dishes. Kuma walked over and was watching him work with a slightly annoyed expression. As he was placing them in the dishwasher a thought occurred to him and he froze.

"What?" Kuma asked sounded as annoyed as he looked at him.

Matthew looked at Kuma with a worried expression. "How… exactly are we going to entertain him for a month?"


	5. Bonus

**((authors note: I give you, bonus snippet! I hope you like it! Enjoy!))**

Russia

He shut the door to the room he would be staying in and closed his eyes for a moment. _What am I doing?_ Unable to relax and feeling even more tense than when he had gotten off the plane, he opened his eyes and he walked over to the bed, sitting down on it. Making a disgruntled expression, Ivan reached over and picked up his phone which he had left on the nightstand next to the bed. A feeling of dread came over him as he saw he had thirty new text messages and over twenty missed calls.

His screen flashed and Natalya's face appeared on it, indicating that she was now calling. Scoffing he placed the phone back onto the nightstand and laid back onto the bed. "What am I doing?" He raised a hand and rested it against his forehead. "If it wasn't for—" he stopped and sighed, growing irritated.

Cursing under his breath his sat up and stared at the closed closet doors in front of him, thinking about what other possibilities he could have taken. _No one else would have taken me in without asking annoying questions. No one will expect that I've come here because there isn't any reason that I should be here. I should be fine._

His thoughts turned to the younger country downstairs and a small guilt weighed on his conscious. "Whatever Matvey doesn't know, won't hurt him," he murmured quietly, "it's none of his concern anyway." He thought of how Matthew had given him so many fearful looks and his guilt deepened. "Maybe I should be nicer…" he concluded, "it is the least I can do…"

He stood up and quietly walked to the door, opened it then walked to the balcony where he could hear the two talking below. He could hear Matthew's voice. "…entertain him for a month?"

"Ignore him."

"Kuma! Seriously, you need to work on your manners."

"No."

"Kumajarow!"

"Who are you?"

"Canada!"

There was a silence in which Ivan shook his head slightly. _Why did he cry that one time when every other time does not faze him?_

"He has to have some hobbies, oui?" Matthew continued, "but I doubt that he'll be able to do much here…"

 _He's talking about me?_ Ivan leaned forward slightly, curious to hear what else Matthew might have to say.

"He can't just be interested in the sights, can he? But if he is, maybe I should take him around…oh! Do you think he'll want Russian dishes while he's here? Maybe I need to start seeing how to make them?"

"Why?" The polar bear sounded thoroughly annoyed. "He's mooching."

"Kuma," Matthew sighed, "I told you, he's sure to have a perfectly good reason for doing what he's doing. All we can do is just be patient, alright? We don't have to be bad hosts."

Having heard enough, Ivan quietly made his way back to his room closing the door. He walked to his bed feeling confused. _How… can he be like that?_ Sitting on the bed again, he stared at the floor with his elbows resting on his knees. _It obviously bothers him that I came here unannounced and that I forced him into keeping me here, but he didn't throw me out. I know he is no weakling, he could have kicked me out if he really wanted to._ He looked at the door where he could hear Matthew's muffled voice and the occasional voice of his polar bear. _He doesn't run from me like so many others do… What's wrong with him?_ Ivan thought back to his dinner with the Canadian, thinking how he had hid behind his menu most of the night, the kind expressions he had given Kuma and the waitress, and the concern he had shown for him. _He's so…_ he struggled to find the word for a moment, _kind…_

A strange feeling took hold of his chest and he felt his face warm slightly. He held a hand up to cover his eyes as he thought of the blond, his kind words, and soft expression.

"Damn it…"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

 **((authors note: Hello Everyone! Here's the fifth chapter, finally! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to upload it, school took up a lot of my time during the last semester. I'll be trying to work on the next chapter as much as possible, but this semester seems just as busy as the last. I will keep posting though! Even if it takes me a while… I'm so excited to write the next few chapters as things will be getting very interesting~! Thank you guys so much for your continuing reads, reviews, and follows 3 It means a lot and keeps my motivation going! Now I hope you guys enjoy reading this overdue chapter..! =D)**

All Matthew could hear from the other end of his cell phone was slight static then—"WHATDOYOUMEANRUSSIAISSTAYINGWITHYOU?!"

"Papa—"

"DON'T TELL ME HE FORCED HIMSELF ON YOU?" There came a scream on the other end of the phone and Matthew jerked the phone away from his ear. "MY POOR BABY! Don't you worry! Your papa isn't just going to sit idly while that horrible man is getting away with who knows what!"

"PAPA!" Matthew yelled as loud as he could towards the phone in his outstretched hand. The older country paused, "it isn't like that! Stop thinking like that! He hasn't really explained why, but I feel like there's something going on that he needs to get away from."

"Comment puis-je croire que un homme plus âgé vit avec mon fils chéri , seul dans votre grande maison et rien ne se passe! Je ne peux pas supporter l'idée de lui! Je suis sûr qu'il voudra profiter de la situation! Je sais que je le ferais! (How can I believe that an older man lives with my darling son, alone in your big house and nothing is going on! I cannot bear the thought of it! He is sure to want to take advantage of the situation! I know I would!)" Francis said sounding close to hysterics.

"France!" The use of this name made Francis's voice falter and Matthew put the phone back to his ear, rushing to speak before he started ranting again. "I told you! It's not like that! Let me explain!"

"Canada," Francis sounded strained, as though he was forcing himself to remain calm. "I call you because I haven't heard from you in two weeks and the first thing you tell me is that Russia, the one you had dinner with, alone I might add, had got off the plane with you and is now staying with you."

"It wasn't the first thing," Matthew tried to defend himself, "the first thing I told you was 'don't freak out'… and then I told you."

There was another silence then Matthew had to yank the phone away from his ear. "DON'T GET FRESH WITH ME, MATHIEU WILLIAMS!"

"S-sorry papa," Matthew mumbled, failing to hide a small smile at his own wit.

Francis sighed on the other end of the phone. "Matthieu… is there something going on that you haven't told me? Are you doing okay?"

"Eh? …why would you think that?"

"Cana," he sounded exasperated, "these things happened so quickly, one right after another, it seems odd it's just a coincidence. Has Russia threatened you?"

"Eh?! Non! Papa, it's not like that! I already explained the situation about dinner, Je ne ferais jamais vous mentir (I'd never lie to you)! And I was trying to explain earlier, I don't know why he choose to come here, he hasn't explained the reason."

"You don't think that is suspicious?"

"Of course I think it's suspicious! But what am I going to do? I didn't want to tell him no…" _More like I couldn't…_

"Oh Cana, you are so sweet sometimes," Francis seemed on the edge of exasperation and adoration, "but I feel it will get the better of you some day."

Matthew sighed slightly and pressed his palm against his forehead, not knowing how to respond.

"So, what actually happened?" Francis asked in a 'let's get down to business' tone.

"Well… He got off the plane with me and we went to my house, I showed him to his room and we had pancakes then he went to his room… he's been in there ever since really."

"Quoi? What do you mean?"

"Well," Matthew glanced at the house some distance away, "I only ever see him during meals and when I do see him he's awful quiet, I forget he's in the house sometimes. It's unsettling… I feel like he's going to sneak up on me," he shuddered.

"So, all he does is stay in his room? That is rather dull," Matthew thought he could hear slight disappointment in Francis voice when he said that.

"Papa," Matthew groaned, "do you always have to reference those kinds of things?"

Francis laughed on the other end of the line. "You know I can't help teasing you, besides it's no fun without a dirty mind," he snickered. "So, he has not explained the reason of his visit, he surprised you with it?"

"Yes… He was, um, quite persistent at staying with me for a while… he didn't say for how long either."

"You did ask him, did you not?"

"Of course I asked him, but all he said was 'as long as I need to' or something like that."

"He is quite mysterious, that man," Francis murmured as though deep in thought. "Well, I am happy that mon Cana is sweet enough to allow him to so unexpectedly stay with you for however long he wants," here he was quiet for a moment, "mais s'il vous plaît soyez prudent, ma douce, je suis inquiet de ce qui pourrait vous arriver (but please be careful, my sweet, I'm worried about what could happen to you)…"

"Papa, Je serai bien (I'll be fine)," he tried to reassure him, "I can take care of myself, besides I have Kumajiko with me."

"That is true," he laughed again. "Well… I am glad to hear from you and that you are fine, Cana. I understand now why you didn't call me back to tell me all the details on your little dinner with him. You've been a little preoccupied, hmm?"

"Papa!"

"But tell me, Cana, why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have helped in any way possible, you know that."

"Oui… I know," Matthew frowned as he thought, "w-well, I just didn't want you to overreact… and I thought that I could handle it, because I can. He came to me after all, plus," here he hesitated for a second, "he comes off as though he doesn't want people to know he's here."

Francis was quiet for a moment which made Matthew shift uncomfortably wondering what the wine loving country was thinking. "I understand where you are coming from," he finally said, "and it's because of this I want you to promise me that if something ends up happening with him that seems dangerous or something you don't like I want you to call me as soon as you can! Going to Alfred's won't be a bad idea either, he is closer to you than I am."

"Oh… Alfred… yeah…"

Francis paused for a long moment. "…have you told Alfred about this?"

"Um… no," Matthew admitted, "but that's because I know he would completely over react and march on up here causing more drama than necessary."

"No doubt, if he was angry about the dinner you two shared, just think about what his reaction will be if he finds out you two are sharing a bed."

Matthew felt his face heat in an instant. "PAPA! It's not like that!" Francis didn't reply but he could hear the country laughing on the other end. Matthew placed a hand to his forehead, trying to get his thoughts together, unsuccessful in ridding Francis' words out of his mind.

"Listen, Cana, I want you to know that all I want is what's best for you, oui? If you are happy then I am content."

Matthew lowered his hand, a little confused. "Papa… where did this come from?"

"Oh, pas où (nowhere), just the prattling of an old but gorgeous fool. You would agree I am like fine wine, no? As age passes by I get ever more delectable," he purred through the phone.

"Oui, papa…" Matthew said suppressing a sigh at the simile.

"Now, keep being the adorable Canada that I know you to be and keep your guest company. He must think terrible of you for being on the phone this long!"

"Non, papa, he went for a walk about an hour ago and I'm walking too. Besides, what happened to you being overly worried?"

"Vous vous concentrez trop sur le passé (you focus too much on the past)! Move forward, Mathieu! Enjoy yourself! But not too much, oui?"

"Papa!"

"I expect a call at least every other day, mon cher! Au revoir!"

"Eh? O-okay! Bye, Francis!" and the call ended.

Groaning slightly, Matthew sat down on the strip of grass he had been pacing and hung his head. He had been wandering around his backyard for several hours before Francis had called him, Kumajiro was asleep back in his room, and Russia was still wandering his city. _He's been gone for quite a while…_ Matthew glanced up at the house. His backyard was about ten acres holding a small forest of maple trees that he himself tapped and the rest was lawn. He was sitting on the edge of the wood where the lawn met the trees. As he wanted to be casual today he was wearing a plain white T-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers with red maple leaves on them.

Matthew looked away from the house and stared down at the grass instead. "This has been a straining two weeks." Getting to his feet, Matthew began making his way back to his house thinking over his conversation with Francis and everything that had ensued since he had gotten home until a dull throb started at his temples.

He hadn't lied to Francis about Ivan's behaviors. The Russian had hardly left his room since that first day of his 'visit'. Their conversations were short and they usually ended with Ivan leaving the room abruptly saying something like 'I have work I need to finish'.

 _What is he working on anyway?_ Matthew thought as he frowned. _He's constantly working… is that all he came here to do? Work? Why couldn't he have done that at home?_ He shook his head slightly, trying to let go of his annoyance, but without much luck.

Ivan had a routine; Matthew wouldn't see him until about nine in the morning where he would get himself something to eat then sit down at the table with his laptop. After about two hours he would go back up to his room and wouldn't emerge until about two in the afternoon, when he came back downstairs for lunch. Lunch was the only time Matthew couldn't predict as Ivan did a lot of different things at this time but he always went back to his room around five. He then reappeared around seven to get something else to eat and then went right back to his room. This had been going on for the past two weeks and Matthew was both grateful and annoyed with it.

"I don't even know what my problem is," he groaned as he finally reached his house. He rest his forehead against the back door. "I didn't really want to deal with him in the first place and this way I don't have to. But he forced himself to stay with me… the least he could do was provide some company, right?" He stared at the door knob now feeling annoyed with himself.

There had been one difference in Ivan's attitude since his first several days. Whenever they had spoken, Matthew had realized that Ivan was becoming easier to talk to. It was like they were slowly but surely warming up to each other, Matthew even found he could tease the Russian a little without him becoming his terrifying self. _It has been nice…_ he admitted before sighing.

Opening the door he walked into his kitchen to find Kumajiro laying on top of his kitchen table. Matthew frowned at him, "Kuma! You know not to lay down on the table, why don't you go lay on the couch?"

Kuma looked up with bleary eyes. "Carry me."

Matthew sighed but couldn't help the small smile that pulled at his lips as he walked over and picked up his bear. "I spoil you way too much." Kuma snuggled into his arms as the blonde carried him into the living room. "What are you doing out here anyway? I thought you were in my room."

"You were gone when I woke up. I wanted to wait for you."

"Ah," small smile turning into a large grin, Matthew scratched the top of Kuma's head lightly, "thanks, Kuma. I'm sorry if I worried you."

"Hmm," his bear mumbled sleepily.

Deciding not to set him down, Matthew instead sat down with Kuma on his couch and flicked on the TV. "Francis called me," he said as he aimlessly flipped through the channels.

"How was that?" Kuma asked as he shifted into a more comfortable position against his owner.

Matthew shook his head. "Exactly as I thought it was going to… but he took it well enough. By the way, did Russia come back?"

"No," Kuma said. "If he did though, I didn't notice. So, maybe?"

Shooting a look down at the polar bear in his lap, he closed his eyes for a moment wondering if he could actually find the larger country. Dropping into a somewhat trance, he suddenly became aware of the millions of people that lived within Canada, himself. He tried to feel for the country that was now wandering around his land and then he knew where he was. His people came off as small warm lights, but Ivan, being a country, was like a beacon, standing out stronger and larger than just a normal human.

Opening his eyes, Matthew blinked as he saw Kuma was now sitting up in his lap, watching him with brown eyes. "He's down the street," he said with a small smile, "making his way back here."

"He's rude," Kuma said matter-of-factly.

Matthew stared at him for a moment then sank into the couch, closing his eyes. "He is a bit…"

"A bit?"

"W-well… maybe a little more than a bit..?"

Kuma shook his head. "Too nice."

"Hoser."

Kuma stopped shaking his head and gave Matthew a glare which made the Canadian break out laughing. "Not funny," the bear said hopping off his lap as Matthew keeled over, continuing to laugh as he lay on the couch.

"That look…!" he gasped forcing the laughter down. Giggling he sat back up, watching Kuma who had his eyes narrowed. "Come on it was funny," Matthew grinned, reaching over to poke his bear gently in the side.

"Hilarious," Kuma said sarcastically though with humor in his voice.

Still grinning, Matthew reached over and ruffled the fur on Kuma's head then turned off the TV. "There really isn't anything good on anyway, should I put on a movie?" he walked over to the shelf lined with DVDs and began looking for one that he fancied. "You know, maybe Russia wouldn't lock himself up in his room if we tried to interact with him more."

"Maybe."

"We just ignore him, really, it's not nice on our part, and maybe we should invite him to watch something with us? What about…?" He reached for _The Hobbit: The Unexpected Journey_ just as he heard the front door open then close. Turning around he saw Ivan standing in the archway leading into the living room looking at him.

He was wearing a large black over coat over a dark blue shirt and blue jeans. Boots covered his feet and his all too familiar scarf was wrapped around his neck. His sandy hair looked ruffled as though he had walked straight through a wind storm.

"Good Afternoon, Matvey," he said with a small smile then gave him a puzzled look. "What are you doing?"

Matthew, his gloom from earlier completely forgotten, smiled at him. "Hi, Russia, we were just picking out a movie to watch."

Ivan looked slightly surprised. "A movie? I have not seen you watch one since I came here, you watch them often?"

Shaking his head and pulling the DVD from the shelf, he said, "no, not very much. But there's nothing on TV and I have nothing planned for the rest of the day. So, why not a movie?"

Ivan nodded. "Da. Well, I will not be disturbing you," he took a step backwards towards the stairs.

"Wait, Russia," Ivan paused watching Matthew with a raised brow, "do you want to watch it with us?"

The larger man's eyes widened with undeniable shock and his mouth opened slightly. "Chto?"

Matthew hesitated, slightly baffled by his reaction. "Do… you want to watch The Hobbit with us?"

Ivan said nothing for a while, staring at the movie in Matthew's hand while his brow furrowed. "The Hobbit?"

It was Matthew's turn to be shocked. "You haven't seen it?" Ivan shook his head, "it's a great movie!"

"That is true, but…"

"You could take a break from work, you know," Matthew pushed, "my surround sound makes the movie come alive, you'll love it!"

Ivan looked apprehensively first at the movie then to Matthew then at the large TV across the room. "Well…"

Matthew sighed slightly, unable to suppress a small smile. "Oh, come on," walking over he grabbed Ivan by the arm and led him into the room. "You sit here," he pointed to a section of the couch that was next to the polar bear who hadn't moved, "and I'll sit here," he sat on the bears opposite side, "and we'll relax for a few hours, it'll be fun."

 _He looks so unsure,_ Matthew thought staring up at him as Ivan seemed to glare daggers at the spot Matthew had indicated as though it was the couches' idea.

"Alright," Ivan said then sat down, looking uncomfortable.

"I'll put the movie in," Kuma announced and took the case from Matthew by his mouth, hopped onto the floor and trotted towards the TV.

Matthew watched Ivan curiously, taking in his stiff posture and his uncomfortable expression which seemed to increase with each passing second. "Have you never just sat and watched a movie before?" Matthew surprised himself by asking.

Ivan looked over at him with a sharp look. "Of course, I have watched movies before at my home and in theaters."

"Well… have you ever taken a break from work before?"

"Da, I have."

"…Have you—"

"Why are you asking these stupid questions?" Ivan snapped.

Feeling unusually brave, Matthew stared back at the cold violet eyes and shrugged. "You seem nervous and I just wanted to know why."

Ivan's eyes widened slightly as Kuma hopped back onto the couch, set the remote on Matthew's lap, and made himself comfortable between them. Without another word, Matthew turned to the TV to watch the short commercials that played before the main menu. _What's wrong with me?_ Matthew thought as he watched the screen, _asking him something like that… it really isn't my business, but I was curious. If Alfred was here he'd have jumped before I could have finished asking. I bet watching a movie with Russia will be a lot better than Alfred though, no interruptions._ He glanced over at Ivan to find that not only were his cheeks a faint shade of pink, but was looking at him with a slightly confused expression as well.

 _Is… Is he blushing…? Why is he blushing…? And why is he looking at me…?_ Eyes widening and feeling his face heat, he asked, "Q-quoi?"

"I…" Ivan started then stopped himself, looking uncomfortable again, "I… have never really sat with anyone to watch a movie. It is not something I have done… for fun."

Matthew's mouth opened slightly. _Eh? That's why..? But that's a little hard to believe… He's 'never' sat down with anyone? …What do I even say to that?_ Thoughts whirling, he struggled to find something to say.

Ivan's expression softened and he smiled, the pink in his cheeks completely gone, his violet eyes gaining a warmth that the pancake lover had never seen before. "Spasibo, Matvey."

Matthew blinked and the expression was gone, replaced by an unreadable mask as Ivan turned back to the TV. Matthew, wondering if he had actually seen such an expression on Ivan's face, stammered slightly. "P-pas de problème (no problem)." He turned back to the screen Ivan's expression still lingered in his thoughts. _I didn't know he could smile like that… wait, I think that's the first time he actually opened up to me a little bit._ Matthew smiled, _in the two weeks he's been staying here, he hasn't said anything about himself at all. He didn't brush me off or avoid the question or anything._ Feeling a bit pleased, Matthew hit play as soon as the main menu popped up and started the movie.

Matthew leaned into the couch as the music started, thinking about Ivan's reactions and the smile he had given him. There came a soft tap on his knee and he looked down to see Kuma looking up at him. "I'm going to make popcorn," he whispered before hopping down and quietly walking towards the kitchen.

As the title showed on the screen, Matthew glanced over at Ivan again to see that although he had relaxed a little, his back was still stiff as a board. Stifling a sigh, Matthew reached over, hesitated for a second, and then prodded his shoulder. Ivan actually jumped which made the Canadian break out in a grin which he immediately regretted as Ivan gave him a rather dark look. "Relax, Russia," Matthew said turning quickly back to the movie as Bilbo made his first appearance, "it's just a movie."

"I am relaxed," Ivan muttered moving his glare to the TV.

Matthew glanced at him again before returning his gaze to the television, still smiling. _He's so nervous,_ he thought feeling slightly pleased but surprised to see Ivan like that. _It's so weird to see Ivan like this. I can't believe he even blushed! I didn't think he could blush… it's kinda cute the way his cheeks didn't go all red, just a little pink._

"My dear Frodo…" Bilbo started his narration interrupting Matthew's train of thought.

After a few seconds of listen to Biblo, Matthew gasped slightly. _Wait, did I just call Ivan cute?_ As Bilbo's narration continued, unheard by the syrup lover, Matthew's thoughts seemed to be running on repeat, playing the same sentence over and over again. ' _It's kinda cute', 'it's kinda cute', 'kinda cute', 'cute', 'Ivan', 'Ivan cute'…. what the hell?!_ Feeling as though time had slowed to a stop, he began to panic. _I-I just—!_

It was here that Matthew registered Kuma placing a large bowl of popcorn into his lap then clambered onto the couch between the two. He stared at the bear with wide eyes, his thoughts were now blank as he became unsure how to react to what he had just thought. Kuma glanced up at him then frowned, placing one paw on his knee.

Matthew took a deep breath then offered him a small smile before turning back to the movie. . _I'm over reacting… but… why did I call him… cute…? I mean, I didn't really, I was just thinking that it was sorta… cute the way he reacted… and how he blushed is all, that's not calling him cute, is it? How can he be cute anyway?_ He glanced at Ivan who seemed to be finally relaxing as he no longer sat so rigidly. He was wearing a scowl, his brow was furrowed, and he was glaring at the TV. _He's anything but that!_ Matthew turned back to the TV now scowling himself. _He's intimidating! That's a word for him… 'cute' is more for Kuma… Kuma is soft and cuddly with big brown eyes… that's cute, not Russia..! What's wrong with me..?_

The movie progressed steadily, but Matthew wasn't sucked in like he usually was by the film. His mood, once elated, was now a mix; anger, annoyance, and confusion seemed to have taken hold of his brain and twisted it around and around his skull. _Okay,_ he thought at one point, the movie nearly halfway done. _I was just caught off guard by his reaction, I mean his blush and that smile just…_ He trailed off as the image reappeared in his minds' eye making, making him suddenly uncomfortable. Trying to shove it aside, he reasoned with himself, _it wasn't a bad thing, he just caught me off guard. It isn't terrible to call someone… cute… is it? Papa does it to me all the time,_ he grimaced, _that's completely different…_

After a few more minutes, in which the party of dwarfs and hobbit witnessed the giant mountain like rock men fight in a heavy rain, the Canadian chanced a glance at Ivan. The larger males' gaze was fixed to the TV and the stiffness was completely gone as he slouched into the couch. Seeing that Ivan had actually relaxed made his own anxiety fade somewhat. _I'm glad he's enjoying the movie_ , he turned back to the TV feeling slightly accomplished and also annoyed with himself. _Why am I freaking out? I shouldn't freak out and I'm not going to freak out. Just forget about it, move on, enjoy the rest of the movie, hoser!_

The movie ended a while later without an issue. Matthew smiled slightly as he stretched, reaching his hands over his head and yawned. He was now completely relaxed for the first time since the movie started, glad that his little slip had stopped bothering him and that he was able to push it to the back of his mind. "Good movie," came Kuma's voice as he put the now empty bowl on the coffee table.

"Very," Matthew agreed, scratching him on the head. He glanced over at Ivan, who was watching the credits roll with a blank expression. "Russia?" Ivan turned to look at him, raising one brow. Matthew hesitated for a second, wondering if the look was a 'shut up' kind of look or a 'what' kind of look. "Did… you like the movie?"

"Da, I think."

Matthew's brow furrowed in confusion. "You think?"

"Is there another movie after this one? I would be believing so because of the ending," he looked back at the screen with an annoyed look. "They were about to show the dragon and then didn't, what kind of der'mo (shit) is that?"

"Ah, well…" he was a little unsure of what to say. _He's never heard of The Hobbit Trilogy..?_ "There's two more after this movie… The next is _The Desolation of Smaug_ and the last one is _Battle of the Five Armies."_

"That has cool movie name," Ivan said looking back at him with a somewhat excited expression, shocking the Canadian. "'desolation of Smaug'," he repeated, "the dragon's name was 'Smaug', wasn't it? That should be a good one. And battle of five armies sounds better, I bet the dragon kills them all." Ivan nodded turning to look back at the screen as though expecting the second movie to start playing at any second. "The ending of the first would be making a lot more sense, eto delayet vy khotite, chtoby uvidet' vtoruyu (it makes you want to see the second)."

 _I'm surprised he's never heard of them,_ Matthew thought as he continued to watch him. _I've never seen him get that way either…_ Reminded of his sudden slip earlier he quickly diverted his thoughts away from the subject and quickly his gaze.

"The eagles were cool." Ivan's voice brought him abruptly out of his thoughts but only served to startle him further.

"Y-Yeah?" Matthew looked up at him, despite his feeling of unease. _I've never heard Ivan say 'cool' before._

"Da, I like how they are saving everyone," Ivan nodded, "I like Bilbo too. He was all of the annoying in the beginning, but I liked the way he was strong to the pale orc at the end. It was very brave of him, he did not show the fear." Matthew's mouth opened slightly as the other man talked, surprised to hear him talking so much in one sitting. "The orc was good bad guy, it is cool that he had a claw hand. I will be excited to watch the other movies now." He fell quiet, now glaring slightly at the large TV.

 _He really liked the movie,_ feeling very pleased with himself he stood and picked up the empty bowl, intent on putting it in the sink.

"Thank you, Matvey," Matthew froze and turned to see that Ivan was looking up at him from the couch looking slightly uncomfortable. "If it would not be too much of the trouble I would be liking to sit with you and watch another movie with you sometime."

"Er," Matthew stared at him, disbelieving, _He wants to watch another movie with me..?_ "Y-yeah, that'll be great, er, fine!" As he stared into the other man's violet eyes he felt his stomach lurch slightly and face start to warm. He turned his back before Ivan would notice and hurried into the kitchen. _What is wrong with me?_ The bowl slipped from his fingers and clanged slightly into the sink. He took a deep breath, trying to get a hold of himself when he felt a pressure on his calf. Looking down he saw Kuma's beetle eyes staring up at him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Matthew managed a smile and shook his head. "W-what do you mean? I'm fine."

"Matvey?" Jumping he saw that Ivan had also followed him into the kitchen and was watching him with a frown. "You look are looking like you a fever."

Waving a hand, Matthew shook his head. "Non! I-I'm fine, ce n'est rien (it is nothing)!"

"Hmm…" Ivan walked over and placed a hand against Matthew's forehead, "No, not fever." His frown deepened as he lowered his hand and took a step back, looking thoughtful. Matthew stared at him, the place where Ivan had touched him seemed to burn. "I know!" He jumped at Ivan's sudden exclamation, "You're hungry!"

"Q-quoi..?"

"Da, it's a little after eight."

"Eh?" Canada turned to look at the clock, "Oh! I'm sorry, Russia..! It slipped my mind! Uh… Let me make something really quick." In a hurry he rushed to the fridge and opened the door scanning through the contents before his eyes landed on a plastic container holding fries that he had recently cut and an idea came to him.

"Poutine?" Kuma asked from next to him.

Matthew nodded and pulled out the container, closed the fridge, and moved towards the stove all without looking over at Ivan. "Oui, I'll make some poutine."

"Poo-tin?" Matthew heard Ivan ask from somewhere behind him. He glanced over to see that Ivan was leaning against the counter watching him with his brow knitted.

"O-oui," Matthew stammered, opening one of his bottom cupboard doors and pulled out a small deep fryer which he placed on the counter. "Frites, sauce caillé et du fromage; il est assez simple à faire (fries, gravy, and cheese curds; it is quite simple to make)…"

"Matvey, you are speaking in French again. You should learn Russian. That way I could understand you when you spoke," Matthew heard him chuckle slightly and felt as though a bucket of ice water was dumped over the top of his head.

"A-ah, désolé," Matthew stammered, then added quickly. "I mean to say, sorry! And, um, poutine is just fries with gravy and cheese curds… it's p-pretty simple to make, so, it won't take very long to… uh… make…" he finished lamely.

"Ah, that is good. I will wait until it is done, I will be right back," and with that, Ivan walked out of the room in the direction of the stairs.

Matthew watched him go as his brain went completely blank. _What is going on with me?_

"Matthew," jumping he looked down to see Kuma staring up at him. "What's up?"

"Nothing…" he mumbled moving to get started on the dinner.

"Non," Kuma said patting his legs with his paws. "You spoke French."

"So?" Matthew said hopping to avoid the obvious confrontation that was now looming, "I speak French a lot. It doesn't make much difference when—"

"You speak French when you get nervous."

Matthew bit his lip, focusing on his work in an attempt to ignore what his bear had just said. "Not all the time," he mumbled quietly after a few seconds of silence. He heard Kuma sigh from next to him.

"You're hopeless."

Shocked, Matthew looked down from the stove. "What does that supposed to mean?"

"Go ask Francis," the bear grumbled walking over to the kitchen table and sitting down just as Ivan walked back into the room holding his laptop.

"How is it going?" He asked looking over as he too made his way to the table.

"Bi—good, it's good," catching himself he turned around quickly.

"That's good," Matthew heard him pull back a chair. "I will be doing some work, if you won't be minding. I've been slacking lately."

"Y-yeah, that's fine! Not a problem."

The next few minutes were filled with the sound of the fryer bubbling and the soft typing of keys as Ivan worked over his laptop. Matthew felt as though his nerves were pulled tight as every key that Ivan pressed seemed to echo extraordinarily loud throughout the kitchen. He even cleared his throat making the Canadian jump so bad he almost dropped the basket as he lifted the fries from the fryer. _What the hell_ , his thoughts raced as he loaded up three plates with fries and then topped them with cheese curds and gravy. _Maybe I'm just tired…? That's probably it… really tired so I'm not thinking straight._

Picking up two plates, Matthew walked over to the table and placed them on the table in front of Kuma and Ivan.

Kuma, who had been curled up on the chair, sat up and looked at the plate. "Thank you," he said licking up one of the cheese curds.

He smiled at the bear then turned to look at Ivan. The Russian hadn't looked up from his laptop, his violet eyes were scanning the screen with a small scowl. "Uhm…" he tried, wondering how he could get Ivan's attention. "Russia..?"

"Hmm?" Ivan tore his eyes from his laptop and focused on him. "Ah, Matvey, is your poutine ready?"

"Oui…" Matthew nodded towards the plate.

"Ah! Thank you, Matvey," Ivan closed his laptop and pulled the plate towards himself.

Matthew walked back to retrieve his own plate moving slowly and slightly relieved that the night was nearly over. He slid into a chair and began eating, keeping his eyes lowered to his food, hoping that Ivan would just eat his food and leave like he normally did.

"This is really good," Matthew jumped at Ivan's exclamation and looked up at him. Ivan was staring down at his plate with a slightly bewildered look. "Why have you not made this dish before?"

"It, uh, just didn't occur to me, eh?" He said quietly glancing at Kuma who was ignoring the both of them and licking his plate clean.

Ivan turned to look at him. "I get it! You have been acting strangely because you were nervous about me trying this dish, da? I read that this is a common dish in your land, Comrade, you should be proud to make a popular dish from your origin. Don't be so nervous!" Ivan smiled at him.

"You don't know anything, idiot," Kuma's voice interrupted as he glared at the other man.

Ivan looked at the bear with his brows raised while Matthew stared him with horror. "K-Kuma..!" Matthew stammered.

"Oh, it is quite alright," Ivan said surprising Matthew with the amount of humor in his voice and looked over to see that the other man was smirking. "He is funny; he is not scared to say what is on his mind. He does not show the fear, it is good feature to have."

"Y-yeah," Matthew looked back and forth between Ivan and Kuma. "You're right…" he focused his gaze on Kuma who was looking back at him with a disgruntled expression. Matthew frowned at him, narrowing his eyes. "He thinks he can get away with saying whatever he likes because he's a bear and can get away with saying rude things because he's cute."

Ivan grinned at his joke and Matthew blinked at the dazzling smile, mouth dropping open at how his whole demeanor seemed to change. The smile was different from the one he had given him when he was in an elevator back in America. At that time, he thought his smile was genuine, but this was the real deal. It had changed his whole face, the usual dark look just hidden under the surface vanished and was replaced by a warmth.

"I do not," Kuma huffed, though looking rather pleased about something.

Ivan laughed, "it is true. He does not have to worry about annoying people because he is bear."

Matthew's breath caught in his throat as he stared at Ivan who continued to chuckle. _I've… never heard him laugh before…_ It was a remarkable sound, very deep and smooth, completely unlike his crazed chuckle that he normally did, and it filled every space in the kitchen.

"Matvey?"

"Eh?" Matthew noticed that Ivan was giving him a concerned look.

"Is… everything okay?" He asked slowly sounding unsure.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine!" The Canadian answered quickly wondering what he had been doing.

"Vous souriais (you smiled)," Kuma said as he pushed his now polished plate away from himself and slid off the chair.

"Eh? J'ai souris (I smiled)?"

"Oui," Kuma said sitting next to him and looking up at him. "Qui es-tu (who are you)?

"Je suis Matthieu (I am Matthew)," he mumbled before glancing over at Ivan to see that he was watching him with a bemused expression. "A-ah..! Sorry, Russia, I didn't mean to, um…"

Russia laughed, though it wasn't the same as earlier. "Matvey, you worry too much, I am fine! You should eat your food, it would be a waste if you didn't."

"Ah..!" Matthew looked down at his untouched food, "Oui!"

"I have been curious," Russia said watching him as he finally began to eat. "You've seemed a bit upset ever since the movie ended."

He swallowed a mouthful of fries and cheese curds around a small lump in his throat. "Upset?"

"Da," Ivan said now with a small frown. "Are you… annoyed with the fact that I…" he hesitated, looking back down at his plate, "Haven't seen that movie before? Was it weird to talk after the movie?"

"Eh?" Matthew shook his head, shocked. "Non! I was actually happy that you liked it so much! I have the next two you know, we could watch them tomorrow if you wanted!"

Ivan looked shocked at first and then he grinned. "Razve (really)? I would like to watch the next two, that would be great! I am glad that you are not upset in anyway, I thought that…" he trailed off then shrugged, "Never mind." He stood and, with his plate, walked into the kitchen and placed it into the sink. "I will be going upstairs now, thank you again for the food."

"Er," Matthew half stood in his chair, staring down at his half eaten plate then back up at him. "Y-yeah," he offered a smile settling back in his seat. "Of course…"

Ivan smiled walking across the room. "Dobroy nochi (Goodnight), Matvey. I will see you tomorrow."

"Bonne nuit (Goodnight)," Matthew replied as he watched him go. He stared at the place where he had last seen him for a few seconds before a pressure on his knee made him look away.

"Eat your food, Matt," Kuma said looking stern.

"Right," Matthew nodded and turned to his food once again. It took him a few quick minutes to clean his plate, put the dishes into the dishwasher, and climb up the stairs after turning off all the lights. Reaching the second floor he paused, staring at Ivan's door, thinking back to everything that had happened that day. He ran a hand through his hair feeling suddenly exhausted as he moved towards the bathroom to brush his teeth before going into his room and closing the door.

Sighing deeply, he kicked off his shoes and pulled his shirt over his head tossing it into the clothes basket he kept in the corner of the room. He walked over to his dresser, opened a drawer, and pulled out a pair of pajama pants covered with maple leaves. He changed into these and then slipped into bed, on which Kuma had been sitting watching his owner. Matthew pulled the blankets over his head hoping sleep came quickly. He felt Kuma's weight shift on the bed and then pressure against his stomach as the bear curled up next to him.

"Kuma… what's wrong with me..?" He murmured quietly.

"You're an idiot," the bear replied just as quietly. "But that's okay, Russia is an idiot too."

"That's not really nice," Matthew mumbled, smiling as he prodded the bear through the blankets with a finger.

"You're too nice."

Matthew sighed again, closing his eyes. _I'll just forget about all the weirdness that happened today. I've been stressed out because of… everything. Tomorrow is a new day, I won't be weird and weird things won't happen. Everything will go back to normal._

"Just be yourself," came Kuma's voice, this time sounding as though he were half asleep.

"Oui," Matthew whispered, feeling his exhaustion wash over him. He drifted into a deep sleep unaware that the weeks to follow would be anything but normal.


	7. Chapter 6

**((authors note: Hello Everyone~! Thank you all for your patience in waiting for this chapter. I've been really busy with school/work and do apologize for the long absence..! I'm hoping that after this I'll be able to write more, but if I'm not able to I appreciate your continued support and patience! It makes me really happy to see the reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are all awesome! So without further-a-do here's chapter 6! I hope you enjoy it!))**

 ***I DO NOT OWN HETALIA NOR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED IN IT***

Chapter 6

Something delicious smelling was filling his bedroom the next morning as Canada shifted under his blanket. "I thought I told Kuma to wake me up if he wanted pancakes," he groaned as he struggled to pull the blankets off his head.

"I'm not making anything."

Matthew paused at the sound of Kuma's voice. "Who..?"

"Your bear."

"Kuma..?"

"Kumajiro."

Matthew frowned then struggled to free himself from his bed. As he successfully pulled the blankets from his head, he came nose to nose with said bear. "Wait…" he stared with blurry eyes at the bear for a while. "If you're not… then who…?"

"Russia is here, remember?" Kuma said from where he was sitting on the edge of his bed. "He is."

"Right, Russia is making pancakes…" Matthew mumbled settling down in bed before sitting bolt upright again. "Wait, he is?"

"I don't know," Kuma said beginning to lick his paw. "I just assumed. It would be weird if it was anyone else."

"R-right," Matthew said as he threw his covers to the side and, after grabbing his glasses, made a dash towards the door slipping them onto his face. "But why would he be making anything? He hasn't done it before?" He didn't wait for an answer as he opened the door and moved quickly into the hallway. He rushed down the stairs and moved around the corner where he stopped dead.

Ivan was indeed standing in his kitchen working over his oven. He looked over at the noise and smiled at Matthew. "Ah, Matvey, I was going to try and get you up when they were done, but they are not quite ready yet."

Matthew's mouth dropped open and he tried to say something, but words were failing him. Ivan was bare chested and his usual scarf that was around his neck was absent for once. Without it he looked extremely well built. Early morning sunrays were gleaming through the window just over the sink, throwing Ivan's build into sharp focus. Matthews' eyes raked over his muscled shoulders, chest, and stomach where the light created enough shadow to show off the prominent six pack. He could just make out the tops of pajama bottoms around his hips over the top of his counter.

 _Oh… crap…_ His body didn't seem to want to be moving properly. His thoughts were sluggish and his insides seem to vanish, he began to feel a little dizzy.

"Ah, da," Ivan said, looking down at his bare chest. "I must apologize, Matvey, I was going to throw on a shirt before waking you up. I wasn't much thinking about it," he shrugged one shoulder as he returned to what he was doing.

At the sound of Ivan's voice, he seemed to restart. He could now feel his heart pounding against his ribs, filling his face with a bright red glow and he released a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. Matthew's thoughts, on the other hand, didn't get the same restart. No logical thought formed in his mind as he continued to stare at Ivan, unable to take his gaze off him.

"You are always making me pancakes in the morning, da? So, I was thinking why don't I make some blini? I think you would be liking it."

Still unable to find his voice, Matthew just stared dumbfounded at the large half naked male in his kitchen. Then he shivered slightly and one thread of thought wormed its way into his mind. _It's cold_ , with sudden realization he looked down to see that he too was shirtless. Horrified at his discovery, he turned and ran to the stairs, climbing them so quickly he almost lost his footing twice, and sprinted into his room where he slammed the door closed a little too hard.

Kuma jumped at the noise then glared at him from the bed. Matthew stared at his bear with wide horrified eyes, stuttering.

"What's wrong? Your face is all red."

"I…I…" Matthew tried to speak then swallowed.

"Russia was in the kitchen?" Matthew nodded. "And…" Kuma stared at his owner, "you don't have a shirt?" Matthew nodded again. "You're weird."

"Non..!" He said, finding his voice at last. "It's not like that!" He ran a hand through his hair, trying unsuccessfully to rid his mind of the image that seemed to be printed on his eyeballs.

"Weird," Kuma repeated as he rolled skillfully off the bed, landing perfectly on his four paws. "Put something on."

"I'm not weird!" Matthew insisted as he watched his bear. "I don't… what happened?"

"I don't know," Kuma said bluntly walking over to his owner.

"He—he, Russia was—he was, well…" he trailed off, wondering why he was reacting like this. "He… wasn't wearing a shirt," he blurted lamely.

Kuma stared at him with unblinking eyes for a moment before sighing, "Idiot."

"I'm not!" Matthew said almost in hysterics. "It just surprised me!"

"Hmm," said the polar bear.

Matthew shot him a glare then moved towards his dresser removing a blue shirt with 'Toronto Maple Leaves' emblazoned on the front in white font and a pair of blue jeans. He dressed quickly without looking at Kuma, muttering, "You've been really strange, Kuma."

"I'm strange," Kuma scoffed, moving past Matthew.

Finished dressing, Matthew moved towards the door glaring at the bear. "Yes, you are."

"You're the one freaking out because Ivan wasn't wearing a shirt," Kuma countered.

Matthew felt heat rise up his neck and into his cheeks. "Tais-toi (shut up)," he muttered opening the door and nearly walking into Ivan. He jumped back raising his hands up slightly in shock. Ivan's eyes widened, his hand was raised as though he was about to knock. Matthew felt an unexplained wave of relief as he noticed Ivan was now wearing a white T-shirt with the Russian flag across the chest, though his scarf was still absent. Matthew's gaze trailed down the front of his shirt where the Russian's muscled torso could still be made out.

"Ah, Matvey," he smiled. "I was just coming to get you. The blini is done."

"Blini?" Kuma asked from the floor, not bothering to look up at them as he moved through the door. "Sounds weird."

"You will like it," Ivan said, looking down at the bear with a grin then back up at Matthew. "You will too, come." He turned and walked back towards the stairs.

Matthew watched him go for a few seconds before following him, his mind wandering back to when he had first seen Ivan in his kitchen. _There was something about seeing him like that…_ He wrestled with his thoughts for a while, taking slow steps down the stairs. _Yesterday I called him cute… and now this… That was a little more than cute though…_ His thoughts seemed to whisper and he felt his face heat up. He missed the last step of the stairs and fell flat on his face with a loud thud. He yelped and rolled over on his back clutching his face. "Merde..! That hurt…"

"Matthew," he cracked open an eye to see Kuma staring at him with a concerned expression.

"I'm fine," he offered a smile and then sat up, but his head was still throbbing.

"Watch where you're going, eh?" Kuma sounded relieved.

"Just distracted," Matthew muttered, rubbing his forehead. "I'll be okay."

"You better."

Walking into the kitchen he found three plates piled high with what looked like small pancakes and syrup on the table. Matthew walked forward and took his seat feeling unnaturally nervous in his own kitchen while his head continued to throb. He glanced at Ivan who was stacking more of the small pancakes onto a larger plate in the kitchen looking excited. _He's having a good time at least…_ Matthew thought looking back at the plate in front of him with a wondering stare. The blini, as he assumed it was, really did look just like pancakes only smaller and thinner. He also noticed that there was a tub of sour cream and several small tins filled with, Mathew's eyes widened slightly, caviar.

"Ah, here, Matvey," Ivan appeared next to the table placing the larger plate in the middle of it and then sat down in front of his own blini.

"What is it?" Kuma asked from the opposite end of the table.

"It's like Russian pancake," Ivan explained pulling the tub of sour cream towards him. "But much smaller. This is what you do," he scooped a small spoonful of sour cream on one of the flat pastries then scooped a small amount of caviar onto the sour cream then popped the whole thing into his mouth. "Is good," he said after he swallowed, looking very pleased with himself.

Matthew looked down at the blini then imitating Ivan, he put some sour cream and caviar on the small pastry and took a tentative bite. His eyes widened slightly, "it's good!" he said then took a larger bite.

"I knew you would be liking it," Ivan said nodding as he prepped another.

"I'm going to put some syrup on it though…" Matthew murmured reaching for the bottle. "I bet it tastes better…"

"I was thinking you would think so," Ivan smiled slightly. "Blini would not normally have syrup, but is not bad with it."

"Wow," came Kuma's voice from the other side of the table. He had just eaten several of the blini and was working on another. "The Russian can cook."

Ivan smirked at him. "Don't be stupid, of course I can. I _knew_ you both would be liking it," he finished happily eating another.

Silence followed in which they were all eating, but the quiet made Matthew rather uncomfortable. _I'm being stupid,_ he thought stuffing a blini rather too forcefully into his mouth making him cough slightly. _Why do I always over think everything?_

"Matvey?"

Jumping, Matthew looked over at Ivan who was staring at him with such concentration that he could feel his face heating up. "O-oui..?"

"Your face is all red like it was last night… Are sure you're alright? Maybe it is a fever."

"Eh..?" His hand jumped to his forehead without a conscious thought while he was putting sour cream on another blini. The spoon smacked him in the forehead leaving a dollop of sour cream in the middle of his brow and making Matthew's face burn even deeper. "Merde… sorry…"

"Why are you saying sorry?" He seemed to be fighting back the urge to grin. "Are you okay?"

"Oui…" Matthew muttered, taking the napkin he handed him and wiping off his forehead. "It's not a fever…"

"Matthew fell down the stairs," Kuma said who was licking his plate clean from the other end. "Hit his head."

Ivan now looked alarmed. "You did? Why did you not say anything?"

"It wasn't that big a deal," Matthew said feeling relieved at Kuma's interruption. "Didn't hurt and a little fall like that isn't going to kill me," he managed a small smile.

Ivan sat ridged in his chair for a while still staring at Matthew who was forcing himself to stare at his food while he ate. "Alright," he heard him mutter after a few silent minutes.

Matthew glanced at Kuma who was eyeing the large plate in the middle greedily. He grabbed his plate and started piling more of the blini on the polar bears before giving it back to him. Kuma began to eat with great gusto at his new pile while Matthew watched him, trying to get his thoughts in order. _So…What is my problem?_ He glanced over at Ivan who was busy with his own plate, glaring down at it darkly. _I call him cute… then I see him this morning shirtless…_ His gaze drifted from Ivan's face down his neck and along the front of his chest, tracing the sharp outline of Ivan's pecks against his shirt. Just then Ivan glanced up and their eyes locked for a few brief seconds before Mathew quickly looked away. _What am I doing..?!_ He attempted to eat another pastry, but it felt like clay in his mouth making it hard to chew.

"Matvey?"

Jumping again, Matthew choked on the blini as he tried to swallow it. "Oui..?" He rasped as he began to panic. _What is it now?_

"Da, so, I was wondering…" he started and there was a strange tone in his voice. "I know that hockey season is coming up… I bought two tickets to the first game of the season. Your favorite team is playing, da?"

Matthew stared at him as Ivan ran a finger around the rim of his glass. _He bought two tickets..? Why?_ "Yeah," he said hesitantly.

Ivan nodded. "I was wondering," he paused, "would you be liking to come with me?"

Matthew's eyebrows shot up in surprise. _He… what?_ A flare of happiness rose up in his chest. "You want to go to a hockey game with me?"

Ivan paled slightly. "I would be understanding if you are not liking to go," he said in a rush. "You probably have season tickets or—"

"I don't!" Matthew interrupted waving a hand. "I hadn't bought them yet. I mean, normally I do, but I haven't." They stared at each other for a while before Matthew blundered, "so, yeah! I'd like to go with you…" feeling his cheeks warm slightly.

Ivan's eyes widened then a large grin broke out across his face. "Devstvitel'no (really)?"

"Er…" Again, Matthew was caught off guard by the genuine smile Ivan gave as well as the foreign tongue. "O-oui?" Matthew managed.

"I am glad," his smile never fading, he went back to his food.

"The season doesn't start for another month though," Matthew said quickly averting his gaze so he wouldn't stare at him.

"I know," Ivan said through a mouth full of blini. "I just wanted to be sure to get tickets."

Despite the confusion and embarrassment he felt, the happy flare continued to burn in his chest. Matthew returned to his own food, finally able to clear his plate. _You're overacting,_ he told himself firmly. _I am glad that he wants to take me though… it should be fun._ He loaded his plate with several more blini with a slight smile on his face, feeling excited to be going to a hockey game and pleased that Ivan had asked him.

There came a small snort from Kuma. "Tu es si évident (you're so obvious)." Ivan and Matthew looked at the bear who was staring at his owner, his brow furrowed. "Évident, évident, (obvious, obvious)," he tutted shaking his head slightly.

"Qu'est-ce que tu racontes (what are you talking about?)," Matthew said as quietly as he could, hoping not to irritate Ivan. _I don't need a ticked off Ivan piled on top of the weird stuff happening already…_

"Vous le découvrirez vous-même (you will discover it yourself)," the bear sighed. "Si vous ne le faites pas, Francis pourrait se fâcher (if you do not, Francis could get angry," he added as an afterthought.

Matthew frowned in confusion. "Que voulez-vous dire? Pourquoi parlez-vous de père tout d'un coup (what do you mean? Why are you talking about father all of a sudden)?"

"Je parie qu'il sait (I bet he knows)," Kuma said frowning at his master. "Et vous n'avez toujours pas (And you still do not)?"

"Pourquoi est-tu agacé? Et que voulez-vous dire par 'il sait'. Que sait-il (Why are you annoyed? And what do you mean by 'he knows'. What does he know)?" Matthew said as his confusion started to turn into annoyance.

"Oublie (forget it)," said the bear.

"Kumapeachy!"

"Je ne dirai pas (I will not say)," Kuma said with another sigh, licking up the last of his food. "bête (stupid). Thanks, Russia," he switched to English addressing the rather frustrated looking Ivan before hopping from his chair and leaving the room.

Silence lay heavily upon the room as neither of them moved and Matthew refused to look at him. "Uhm…" he started not sure what to say. "Sorry… about Kuma…"

"That is fine," Ivan said in what seemed to be an attempt at being light hearted, but he piled blini on his plate so forcefully that nearly half missed.

"I don't know what's gotten into him…" Matthew murmured more to himself than to Ivan. He thought hard about what the bear had said starting from the time he woke up till now. _Doesn't make sense… Kuma doesn't usually say pointless things… What does papa know that I don't..?_

"So," Ivan said in a would-be casual voice. "What were you guys talking about?"

Matthew looked up at him with a small smile. "I really don't know actually… he's being really weird… sorry…"

"You don't need to apologize," Ivan said with his usual small smile.

For what felt like the millionth time for Matthew the kitchen fell silent as their attention was drawn back to the food. His appetite was gone, but he felt it necessary to at least finish what he had grabbed even though each bite made him feel a little nauseous. _Why did Kuma have to leave…?_ He thought feeling a little desperate. He wanted to break the silence, but wasn't quite sure what to say and it didn't help that his mind kept wandering over what Kuma had said plus the image of shirtless Ivan. _What's wrong with me…?_

Having finally finished what was on his plate, he stood up rather too quickly almost knocking his chair over and moved to put the plate in the sink.

"Are you sure you are feeling alright, Matvey?" Matthew looked over to find the Russian had turned in his seat to face him. "You are not yourself."

"V-vraiment (r-really)?" Matthew muttered quickly turning to stare into the sink. "Je vais bien, rien ne me dérange, rien du tout, Kuma est bizarre, mais je vais bien, complètement (I'm fine, nothing disturbs me, nothing at all, Kuma is weird, but I'm fine, completely)," he said in a rush staring hard at the sink as he tried to convince himself as well as Ivan.

"That was French." Matthew jumped when Ivan spoke behind him and whipped around to see that Ivan was holding the now empty serving plate as well as both his and Kuma's plates plus the glasses they were drinking from. He was surprised to see that Ivan didn't look annoyed at all, rather he was looking amused. "You know what I have noticed? When something is bugging you, you speak French. So, this is why I know there must be something bothering you," he continued moving past Matthew and placed the plates next to his in the sink. "Are you feeling sick? Or maybe your head still hurts from when you fell?"

Matthew wasn't really listening. He was keenly aware at how close Ivan was to him and felt as though the skin closest to the larger male was prickling all over. He could feel his face flushing in a deep red and could even smell Ivan's cologne, which he had always noticed, but never had been this close to the scent before. It seemed to waft over him making his thoughts go fuzzy. _Did he always smell this good…?_

"Matvey?" Ivan was leaning down in order to look him in the face.

"Eh?!" Matthew jumped back. "Non..! I-I'm fine, really," he began to walk backwards making his way towards the staircase as Ivan watched him with an unconvinced expression. "Er… I'm just going to check on Kumalitchly…" He turned and for the second time that morning fled the kitchen. When he reached the stairs he noticed that Kuma was at the top of them, curled up and glaring at his owner as he made his way up to him.

"What are you doing…?" he whispered to him once he reached the top most stairs.

"Making sure you don't go hide in your room," the bear whispered back. "Go back down. It's rude to run away."

Matthew stared at the bear in disbelief. "What are you—?"

"Go." Kuma jerked his head to the side. "Help with something." When Matthew didn't move Kuma sighed. "I'm going to push you down the stairs," he threatened.

"Alright!" Matthew hissed. "You're right, it was rather immature to… _run_ from him." Kuma nodded. "I just…" he trailed off not sure what to say.

"You'll be fine," Kuma said. "Go ahead."

Matthew nodded then trudged back down the stairs and back into the kitchen. Ivan was standing at the sink staring out of the kitchen window with, what Matthew thought, a rather morose expression. "R-Russia?"

Ivan looked around at him, his eyes widening. "Oh! You came back."

Matthew felt his face flush in embarrassment as he moved to the kitchen table. "O-oui…"

"Normally when you run away you don't come back," Ivan smiled at him. "Is Kumajiro okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine. Here… let me help," he grabbed the containers of sour cream and caviar from the table.

"You do not have to," Ivan said sounding even more surprised. "I can do it."

"It's no trouble," Matthew insisted tossing the empty containers in the trash while putting the others in the fridge. He paused when closing the door and then reopened it, noticing that all of his milk and eggs were gone. A small smile curved his lips as he moved to where he kept the flour to find that it was gone as well. "Russia?" He turned to look at Ivan who glanced up from where he was washing the dishes.

"Da?"

"You used up all my flour, eggs, and milk?"

Ivan stared blankly at him then turned slowly back around and began doing the dishes again. "…Da," he said finally. "I also used the last of your butter, sugar, and vegetable oil… I didn't know you were so low on everything."

Matthew sighed slightly. "Yes, I was planning on using the last of it to make pancakes before I went shopping for more."

"Prosti (sorry)…" Ivan mumbled just above the sound of the dishes clinking together.

"Eh..?"

Ivan glanced over at him with a stern expression. "I'm sorry."

"O-oh, Non! It's fine," Matthew said quickly, feeling flustered all of a sudden. "I was going to use it up anyway and I'm glad that you cooked the blini. I've never had it before and it was really great!"

Ivan looked over at him again and nodded. "I am glad. I will go buy more supplies for your pancakes after I am done."

"You don't have to do that," Matthew said, slightly surprised at this. _In the two weeks that he's been here he's definitely changed…_

"I insist," Ivan said as he finished the dishes and dried his hands. "I will go now."

Matthew watched as Ivan walked past him and made his way to the front hall. "Er, Russia..?" Ivan paused. "I'll… I'll go with you. I need to pick up a few things besides groceries," he walked over to him, making sure to stand just far enough away so he couldn't smell Ivan's cologne. "I'd like to get out of the house anyway."

"Alright," Ivan nodded. "Let me get my shoes." Matthew followed him upstairs, noticing that Kuma wasn't at the top anymore. Going into his room to grab his socks and shoes, he saw Kuma laying on his bed.

"Hello," Kuma said with the slightest tone of smugness in his voice.

"…Hello," Matthew replied feeling uneasy. "What are you doing?"

"Sleep," the bear said and closed his eyes.

"Whatever…" he quickly covered his feet then headed back out the door. "I'm headed to the store with Russia. I'll be back in a bit, Kuma."

"Seeya," Kuma drawled from the bed.

 _He is definitely the weird one,_ Matthew thought shaking his head as he moved down the stairs to where Ivan was waiting by the front door. He noticed that he had also put on the all too familiar scarf, which pulled Matthews attention away from Ivan's muscular body. _Seriously,_ Matthew thought as they went through the front door. _How is he that ripped? Even Alfred isn't and he works out like twice a day…_ he snorted, _well, he 'says' he works out twice a day._ "I'll drive," Matthew said quickly as Ivan started to walk away from the house. "It'll be a lot faster."

He opened the garage door, eyeing Ivan a little nervously. Matthew's car was a deep red Dodge Ram pickup truck and he wondered if Ivan would think that he was a little too obsessed with the color red. Ivan eyed the truck as they walked into the garage and Matthew slid into the driver's seat.

"Nice truck," Ivan said as he sat in the spot next to him.

"Thanks," Matthew grinned at him feeling relieved. "I like it, though Alfred always says that I'm compensating for something…" an awkward pause followed these words and Canada felt his cheeks warm again. "S-sorry… stupid joke…" _Why did I have to say that…?!_

"That is fine," Ivan said, but he didn't look it.

Matthew sighed to himself as he put his seatbelt on and backed out of his garage. _And things were beginning to feel a little normal…_ Regretting what he just said, he tried to focus solely on driving, but the suffocating silence was distracting. _Out of all the stupid things to say…_

At a red light he chanced a glance at Ivan to see him staring at the window with a slight frown. _Crap._ "Er," as Ivan looked over at him Matthew looked back out through the windshield. "I didn't mean to upset you…"

He heard Ivan sigh. "Nyet, I should not be getting upset. You did nothing wrong."

"A-alright," he hesitated. "Uhm… thanks by the way."

"For what?"

"For making breakfast," Matthew glanced at him and saw that Ivan was staring at him. Feeling self-conscious, he mumbled. "I didn't say thanks yet… so… thank you…"

It felt as though the previous tension that had filled his truck eased. "You are welcome," Ivan said quietly.

Matthew smiled as the light turned green and they were able to move forward. "Kuma really liked it too, think you could make more some time?"

"Da, next time I will not be using all of your ingredients," he chuckled.

Matthew's smile widened as he focused on the road. _I'm glad that the atmosphere cleared…_ As he drove he began to notice that he could once again smell Ivan's cologne. He spent a few seconds wondering what kind of scent it was, he couldn't really place it, then shook his head slightly. _Gah…_ He tried to focus on the road but his thoughts continued to drift. _What would Francis know that I don't?_ Another red light. Matthew glared up at it coming to a stop, _what would Francis say if I told him this?_ He mentally asked the light. _Probably something like 'oh no! My baby has fallen in love hasn't he?!' or something… ridiculous…_ He stared, unseeing at the green light for a few seconds, his mouth opening slightly in shock.

"Matvey! The light is green," Ivan's voice made him jump.

"O-oh!" His foot slammed down on the gas and they lurched forward. "Sorry..!" Matthew gasped feeling his heart sink down to his feet just as a burning heat flared up in his cheeks. _What?!_

"Yebena mat' (holy shit)!" Ivan yelped.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Matthew breathed out, his car shot forward before he quickly pulled into the nearest parking lot of the nearest grocery store. He parked with an additional jerk. _What?!_

"Matvey!" Ivan sounded pissed, but Matthew couldn't bring himself to look at him.

"S-sorry," it felt as though a miniature bomb had exploded in his mind. _I don't… do I…?_ "L-let's go," he said hating how his voice was shaking. He got out of the truck not paying attention to what he did as, slowly, his thoughts began to pull back together. _Francis would definitely say that… But there's no way…_ He thought of his reactions this morning and felt his face flush. _Okay, maybe there is a way…_ He glanced up at the building as he moved towards it feeling as though he had left his insides back in his truck. _Okay, it might be possible that I… have feelings? …Towards Russia…? Oh God…_ He held a hand up to his face remember what Kuma had been saying. _Damnit he knew..?! When I didn't?! How does that work…? I don't even think I've 'liked' anyone before…_ Walking through the doors he thought back through his long years and realized with a jolt that he hadn't ever really thought about it before. _Feels a bit stupid now though…_ he thought rather guiltily. _There was just always something more important to worry about rather than 'who I liked'…_ He smiled weakly. _Bet Francis would have a hissy fit if I told him that…_

"Matvey?" Matthew jumped when a hand appeared on his shoulder and he looked up at Ivan who quickly withdrew his hand. He was wearing a determined expression. "You nearly killed us."

Matthew, his face continuing to burn, looked down. "Oui ... Je suis vraiment désolé ...! Je ne voulais pas faire ça ... (Yes… I'm really sorry…! I did not want to do that…)," he said quickly unsure of what to do with himself.

"That was French again," Ivan sighed. "What is wrong..?" his voice sounded slightly strained.

Matthew glanced up at Ivan and saw he looked concerned. "Uhm…"

"Seriously," Ivan said now frowning at him. "You've been weird ever since last night. Your face is always red. You should have stayed home."

"N-non..! Really… I'm fine…" he tried to smile, but his lips only twitched. "I'm just, um, tired, that's all. Kuma was restless last night and kept me up," he lied feeling awkward. "I'll be okay if we just hurry and get back home."

Ivan stared down at him for several long minutes in silence. Matthew stared back unable to break his gaze and felt a shiver of the cold waves of Ivan's intimidation coming off him. _Haven't felt that in a while…_ his thoughts murmured as violet eyes bore into his own. Ivan sighed suddenly and adverted his gaze looking rather irritated. "Alright, Davayte pokonchim s etim (let's get it over with). That way we can go home. You get what you need, I'll get the ingredients I used." He walked away from him, grabbing a cart as he did so.

"A-alright…" Matthew said watching him walk away and feeling rather miserable. _That's not how I'm supposed to act, right…?_ He grabbed a smaller cart then headed into the depths of the grocery store. _What am I supposed to do now? I think I pissed him off… Great._ He glared at the items on the shelves as he passed them. _Figure out I like him and now…?_ He felt a jolt run through him. _I like a guy…? And Russia of all people… Well… he is nice when he can be… and he doesn't forget me like everyone else seems to do… He gets along with Kuma and helps out around the house. And he is pretty cute…_ Matthew remembered that he had thought similarly last night and sighed, reaching up and grabbed an item from the shelf and tossed it into his basket. _I hope I can still act normal around him…_ He moved through the store and memories of the past two weeks flooded into him, now he could plainly see that he did indeed like Ivan. His thoughts returned, once again, to the shirtless scene that morning and he felt his heart skip. _Don't do that…!_ He thought alarmed placing a hand on his chest realizing that his heart had had the same reaction that morning, only he hadn't recognized it then.

Matthew moved through the aisles trying to focus on the task at hand. It did feel as though his world had shifted slightly, but ultimately nothing had changed. If anything him 'playing in the same ball field', as Alfred would say, made sense to the pancake lover and it wasn't this that surprised him, more so because of the person who made him realize it. _Alright,_ he told himself stopping abruptly at the end of an aisle. _Nothing's changed! He's still staying with you, you're still going to be nice, and Russia will still be completely intolerable at times, but that's okay because he apparently needs a place to stay and I'll put up with it!_ Kuma's voice entered his head just then, 'too nice, too nice.'

"Shut up, Kuma…" he muttered turning down the aisle. He froze. Ivan was standing halfway down the aisle staring at something on the shelf. Unsure of what to do, he stood frozen like a statue staring wide eyed at the Russian feeling his pulse quicken. The larger male was staring longingly at something on the shelf, an expression Matthew hadn't seen before. _What is he staring at…?_ He wanted to try and see what it was, but was too scared to have Ivan notice him. _Hoser…!_ He yelled at himself, _nothing's changed right? What's the big deal?! Just go over there!_ His thoughts went quiet when Ivan shrugged a shoulder then moved off away from Matthew and then disappeared around the corner.

Canada let out a breath he hadn't been aware he'd been holding then, curious, moved to where Ivan had been standing. Realizing he had walked down a candy aisle. _What would Russia like down here…?_ He stopped where Ivan had been and, looking up, he was able to spot a box that he assumed he had been looking at. According to the writing on the small box it was Russian soya bars, whatever those were. Matthew stared at it for a few seconds before glancing in the direction Ivan had gone. _Why didn't he grab them?_ He hesitated for a second before taking down a box and opened it. Inside were small wrapped candies with colorful wrappings. _Why is something like this in the grocery store…? I didn't know they sold stuff like this here._

After a few more seconds of hesitation he closed the box then put it in his cart. _I'll get them then._ A thought occurred to him as he continued on his way. _I bet he misses home… but then,_ he frowned. _Why doesn't he just go home? It must be really bad if he doesn't even want to go back to his own place… If he went to the United States with the rest of us, that means he hasn't been home in almost a month. I wonder what it could be… He'll probably head back home soon though._

Normally, he knew, countries rarely visited another for longer than a month. During world meetings, everyone would stay in the hosting country for about two weeks before returning home. _So this isn't all that different? He's been here about that long… but he wants to go to a hockey game with me…_ He felt his face flushing despite his efforts to do the opposite. _So, he's at least planning to stay a month longer… What's he thinking?_

-Russia-

Ivan couldn't understand it. He had been nice, hadn't he? He had shown Matthew that he could be nice and not scary. He had watched a movie with him yesterday, even made blini to show that he wasn't scary, so why…?

He frowned as he moved through the aisles. _Maybe I crowded him too much…_ He thought back on what he had done the past two weeks. He had tried to talk to the smaller male more, but was worried that he would scared him off so he would end their conversations short and then berate himself in his room for not trying harder. A small blush crept up into his cheeks when he remembered watching the movie with Matthew. _It was really nice…_ _No! Focus!_

He had made sure he had everything in the cart that he had used to make the blini and the guilt that had been hanging over him since that morning grew a little heavier. _I'm sorry I can't buy this, Matthew,_ he thought glumly. _But if I use my card…_ He shook himself, scowling. _No time to think about that._ He stopped suddenly with sudden realization. _That's the thing that could be bugging him._ He started walking forward again slowly, deep in thought. _That has to be it. If it were me I'd be angry too._ He smiled darkly. _No. If it were me I wouldn't have had them stay with me. I would have kicked them out the first day. Matthew is really something else…_ He glanced around now looking for Canada. _Maybe I should tell him..._ He moved through the store glancing down aisles as he passed them. _Where did he go?_ Ivan sighed slightly. _I hope I don't scare him off even more…_

-Canada-

Matthew walked forward slowly, his hand hanging when a shout made him jump. "Matvey!" He turned to see Ivan walking towards him his face a blank mask.

The closer he moved towards him the more self-conscious he became and his heart began to pound in his chest. _Is this what happens when you realize you like someone..?!_ He thought wildly. "O-oui..?" he stammered once Ivan had come up to him.

"I have all the things," he said gesturing towards his basket. "It was a little difficult to find everything considering the store you chose."

Matthew blinked. "Eh?"

Ivan lifted one eyebrow. "It is one of those stores that has imported goods from around the globe. You didn't know?"

"O-oh," Matthew glanced into his basket and saw that all of the items that Ivan had grabbed were definitely the usual things he bought. "I… wasn't really paying attention…" he muttered glancing up at Ivan apprehensively. Ivan frowned very faintly then, wordlessly, turned to get in line so that they could check out.

Matthew followed him and stood behind him feeling awkward, glancing up at him every now and then. They checked out and left the store without a word, moving towards Matthew's truck was an awkward walk filled with even more silence. _You know,_ Matthew thought as he put all the groceries in the bed of his truck. _I used to like silence and things being quiet… now it just seems to be filled with nothing but tension…_ He stepped up into his truck feeling rather miserable, waiting for Ivan to get in before he started the truck and pulled back onto the main road.

At a red light, at which Matthew silently cursed, Ivan cleared his throat making him jump. _Stop being so jumpy…!_ He yelled at himself while glancing apprehensively at Ivan who was looking uncomfortable. "Matvey, I know I have said it before," Ivan said without looking at him. "But thank you for putting up with me for the past two weeks."

Matthew stared out the windshield a little taken aback. "It's alright," he started feeling nervous.

"Nyet," Ivan said in a firm tone. "I showed up unannounced and you have been a very good host putting up with me."

"It hasn't been a problem," Matthew murmured feeling his face heat. _Merde, not now…!_

"I also wanted to say sorry that I have been so rude since first arriving," Ivan continued now talking rather quickly. "You have done too much for me, comrade. I do not know if I can repay you in anyway."

"It really isn't a problem," Matthew said feeling quite flustered. "I don't mind..! You know… things happen…" he drifted off unsure of what to say. The light turned green and his attention was pulled into his driving for a moment. "By chance," Matthew said after a while. "Do you think you could tell me why you're here in the first place?" _Nosey,_ his thoughts hissed at him. _I need to figure this out though! It's bugging me,_ he argued with himself gripping the steering wheel.

Ivan didn't respond right away. "If it is okay with you," he said slowly. "I would be liking not to say…"

Matthew glanced over at him and was a little startled to see the cold expression that the Russian was now wearing as he glared out the passenger's window. He hadn't seen that expression in a long while, but he was also keenly aware that Ivan's usual dark aura that came off him when he was upset, was absent. "Al-alright," he said turning down the road that would led him to his home.

"It is not that I am not telling you for my own benefit," Ivan rushed on. "It is simply… I do not want to be pulling you into my problems. I just had to get away for a while. I will be going back eventually, but not yet. I do not want to go back now. Besides, I do not want to get you even further involved than you already are. I am thinking I should not have involved you this far in…" he said quietly, more to himself than to Matthew.

"But—" Matthew tried curiosity eating at him.

"Nyet," Ivan said firmly. "As I have said, you have done more than enough for me already and I have made up my mind. This business is with me, you do not need to be involved in details." Silence followed his words in which the pair of them were lost in thoughts; Matthew irritated and completely at a loss of what to do and Ivan into a deep contemplation. "All that I ask," the Russian said softer than before, "is that you put up with me for at least a few more weeks. As I can tell things have not calmed down even in the slightest."

Matthew was frowning as he stared not really seeing at the road. He thought that once he had asked Ivan directly about the circumstances in which led him to stay at Matthews' house he'd feel better that he would feel better. Better for knowing and that letting the larger male stay with him wasn't some mistake, even knowing if he was being used or not in some way or another. What Ivan was saying now, however, made it sound a lot worse than what he was imagining. _Is it something to do with his boss? Or something with his economy? But if that was the case, wouldn't he have to be at home to fix it?_ "Alright," Matthew muttered. "So, you're thinking just a few more weeks?"

"Da," Ivan sounded distant. "I will be staying to take you to the hockey game, I know for sure. But anything after that I am not sure."

The car fell silent then as Matthew thought about the situation. He couldn't understand Ivan's position, nor did he think he was in a position to ask for more details. He felt a deep longing to help Ivan as, obviously, the situation he was in did bother him greatly, but he couldn't do more than he already was. _If Ivan really wanted my help or if I could help the situation, he would ask… right?_ Matthew couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that Ivan didn't trust him enough to confide in. _But,_ he reasoned. _That's not something I should get upset over. Is it normal to feel like this when someone you like is in trouble…?_ He wondered if he felt this strong urge to help him was because he wanted to or if it was now he knew he had feelings towards the other male.

He pulled into his driveway and then, after opening the door with the remote in his care, into the garage. "Russia," Matthew said making the Russian pause as he was getting out of the truck. _Smile brightly!_ He told himself as he smiled at Ivan. "Stay as long as you'd like. I don't really know what's going on and you don't have to tell me. Just stay until everything's figured out and don't worry about it. And I did mean what I said earlier, it really is no trouble and I don't mind having you as a guest," he smiled again then opened the door dropped out of the seat. Opening the door behind the driver seat to grab the groceries he continued, "I don't normally get a lot of visitors," he grabbed as many bags as he could on both arms and closed the door with his back. "So, I was worried I wasn't going to be the best of hosts. So, you'll have to bear with me on that." He looked over at Ivan who had also gotten out of the truck. Matthew quickly closed the driver's door and moved around the front of his truck where Ivan was standing. He noticed that the Russian was staring at him with an expression Matthew couldn't really place again, but one that made me feel nervous. He decided that Ivan either looked incredibly angry or very dismayed.

"R-Russia? Are you alright?" Matthew wondered if something he had said was upsetting him.

"Thank you, Matvey," Ivan said in a soft voice. "For everything."

Matthew felt the heat rise in his cheeks just as his arms gave slightly and he nearly dropped all the bags he was carrying. Thankful for the opportunity not look at Ivan he concentrated on his arms. "It… it r-really isn't a problem, Russia…"

"Let me help," Ivan said abruptly, striding over and taking several of the bags from his hands. It felt as though electric bolts flew up Matthews arms when Ivan's skin brushed against his. "You do not have to be taking so many at once."

"M-merci," Matthew stammered stumbling to the door that led into his kitchen. He opened the door and moved into the kitchen, spotting Kuma lounging on the kitchen table again. "Kuma," he said exasperated. "I told you not to lay on the table."

"How was the trip?" Kuma asked slyly, completely ignoring his owner.

 _If bears could smirk,_ Matthew thought feeling his once dispersing blush come back in full, h _e's doing it._ "It was fine," he said cautiously placing the bags on the counter, hearing Ivan following close behind him.

"He went to one of those imported good stores," Ivan said and Matthew looked around at him with a defiant look.

"Really?" Matthew could have killed Kuma. His voice had turned very smug and almost suggestive. _Just like Francis…_

"Da," Ivan continued as he started to put away what Matthew had bought. "It was weird, but we managed to get everything without a problem."

Matthew wasn't paying attention to what Ivan was saying. Kuma was giving him a long hard look in which Matthew felt his blush deepening by the second. _He knows…_ he thought just as he saw Kuma tilt his head, his eyes seemed to be so bright that they were sparkling.

"Comprenez-vous enfin (do you finally understand)?" Kuma said in a light tone.

Matthew turned away from him and began to help Ivan put things away. "Oui," Matthew said quietly.

He heard Kuma sigh, "à propos du temps (about time)," sounding rather cheerful. "Je suis content (I am happy)." Wishing he could consciously stop blushing and that Kuma would stop talking he tried to focus on putting away the things he had bought. It was a bit difficult as he was maneuvering around Ivan trying not to go near or touch him. "Vous êtes vraiment évident de nouveau (you are really obvious again)," Kuma remarked still laying on top of the table.

"Oh, Soyez silencieux (be quiet)," Matthew hissed at Kuma. "Je ne sais pas vraiment quoi faire (I do not really know what to do)."

"Do you always have to speak in French?" Ivan sighed closing a cabinet and turning to look at them. "You do know that it is annoying that I cannot understand."

"S-sorry," Matthew said hastily.

"So what?" Kuma said nonchalantly.

"Yesli ty ne prekratish', ya budu govorit' na Russkom yazke (if you do not stop I will speak in Russian)," Ivan said crossing his arms. Matthew stared at him unsure of what he had said and feeling flustered that he was striving to make a point by speaking his native tongue. "Togda my vse mozhem byt' razdrazheny vmeste (then we can all be annoyed together)."

"Il est stupide (he's stupid)," Kuma complained rolling over on the table. "Faire lui Arrêtez (make him stop)."

"You started it," Matthew replied careful to speaking English, glaring at the bear. "Russia is right, it's rude to talk in front of him in a different language."

"Baiser cul (kiss ass)," Kuma muttered climbing off the table. Matthew glared at him as the bear walked over to him, sat down then stared up at him. "Vous réalisez enfin que vous l'aimez et maintenant vous prenez son côté (You finally realize that you love him and now you take his side)?"

"No!" Matthew shouted in surprise feeling his face burn. "Je ne amour lui (I do not love him)!" He argued glancing up at Ivan. _He really doesn't know any French, right?_

"You spoke French," Kuma said happily trotting off into the living room. "I win."

Matthew stared after him then turned a tentative gaze at Ivan who was staring at him. "He was just trying to pick a fight with me over something stupid," he lied quickly feeling extremely uncomfortable.

"Ya vizhu (I see)," he said with a smirk. "YA dumal, kak mnogo (I thought as much)."

"Uhm…" Matthew hesitated unsure of how to respond.

"I am joking," Ivan's smirk widened. "By the way," he continued now looking determined. "I was wondering if we can watch the second Hobbit movie? I do want to see the others."

"E-eh? Oh! Y-yeah! That would be cool, I mean I want to watch the other two as well," Matthew blabbered, quickly moving into the living room.

They spent the rest of the day sitting in Matthew's living room watching the last two Hobbit movies. When they grew hungry, Matthew ordered pizza and they ate while they watched. Canada was quite relieved that he could sit with Ivan and act normally. It was almost exactly like the other day when they watched through the first one, except today Matthew found that he was really enjoying himself instead of being a bit tense. _Though,_ he thought thinking back through the weeks. _I guess I always enjoyed myself with him._ Once they finished _The Hobbit_ series they moved onto the _Lord of the Rings_.

"I did not like that they killed Smaug so quickly," Ivan said as Matthew put in the first of the trilogy.

"Yeah, a lot of people thought the same," Matthew said plopping back down on the sofa.

"Do these have a dragon?" Ivan glanced at him.

"No," Matthew grinned at him. "But there are some awesome fight scenes."

"I will be looking forward to it then," he smiled then settled into the sofa as the title screen popped up.

 _Yesterday seems so far off,_ he thought as he watched Ivan completely relax. _This is really nice._ Feeling content he copied Ivan and settled into the sofa. An image of the two of them on the couch with Ivan's arm wrapped around his shoulders with him resting, snuggled, against his side flashed in Matthew's mind. A blush crept its way into his face as he tried to act casual and ignore the fact that that was what he wanted. _What is wrong with me?_ He thought feeling a mix of emotions. _Is this seriously how people act when they like someone?_

Through the movie Matthew was able to relax, though he couldn't deny the fact that he did want to get closer to Ivan. The movie ended and Kuma put in the second as Matthew made some popcorn for them and Ivan picked up the last slice of cold pizza. As the second movie ended and the third movie began, Matthew felt increasingly tired. He struggled to stay awake through the last one, but as he felt very content and happy it was difficult not to fall into a lull. As the credits rolled, Matthew stretched then checked his phone for the time. He laughed slightly. "It's 2:00."

"Chto? Really?" Ivan glanced over at his phone as Matthew held it out to him.

"Yeah, I forgot how long these movies are," Matthew stood, ruffling his hair. "Going to head to bed. I'm glad we were able to watch all of them, we can talk about them tomorrow."

"I will go too," Ivan yawned and stretched on the couch. Matthew's eyes scanned the few inches of skin that were exposed as the shirt lifted up above his pant line. Ivan stood then rolling his shoulders.

Matthew looked away when he stood and move towards then up then staircase in quick succession hearing Ivan following him. _Does he have to do that?_ He thought thinking of the glimpse he had stolen. _He has the perfect v-line…_ They reached Ivan's room and Matthew waved a hand, still not looking at him. "Have a good night, Russia," he started towards his room. _Maybe things aren't exactly going to be normal… especially if I keep thinking this way…_

"Matvey!" He felt Ivan grab his wrist, stopping him dead in his tracks. He turned and saw that Ivan was staring down at him with another peculiar expression. They stared at each other for a few silent seconds. "Matvey, I…" hearing Ivan say his name in such hushed tones sent chills down his spine. The silence stretched and Matthew felt his anxiety increase with the passing seconds, his heart pounding against his ribs. The determined look in Ivan's eyes seemed to flicker and go out before he sighed. "Have a good night, Matvey," he said quietly before going into his room and closing the door.

Matthew stood for another few seconds, staring at Ivan's closed bedroom door, before Kuma tapped his foot. "Come on, dummy."

"Oui…" Matthew walked slowly into his room in a daze. _What was all that about…?_ He closed the door to his room then turned around and frowned at Kuma. "I'm not a dummy."

"You are," Kuma said leaping up onto Matthew's bed.

As Matthew began to get ready for bed he heard his phone go off. "Who is that texting so late at night?" He pulled his phone from his pants pocket and checked it. The text message was from Alfred. Guilt washed over him as he remembered he hadn't talked to his brother since their fight back in the States. He opened the text message feeling anxious and read: 'Mattie! Whats up? I havnt heard from u in like forevr, not cool! Ur not ignoring me are u? Thatd be really lame, dude. Seriously if u got time call me!'

Matthew sighed slightly. "I really don't want to think about this right now," he said looking over at Kuma.

"The more you put it off the greater the issue," Kuma said.

Matthew hung his head. "When did you get smart?" he muttered. "I'll reply to him tomorrow… It's too late to think about his reaction right now…" He put his phone on the nightstand. "There's too much going on right now…"

"It will still get worse if you don't do it soon," Kuma tutted.

"I know," he said. "But how do you think he's going to react if I told him I like Russia?" He ended in a barely audible whisper.

"I will never be the right time," Kuma rolled onto his back.

"Oui… but I will deal with this tomorrow," he crawled into his bed. "Now stop worrying and scoot over."


End file.
